The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities 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 while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
