The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six 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 got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
