The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
