The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
