The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
