The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
