The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
