The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
