The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – 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 total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, 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. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
