Healy Fires a Second Ton to Power the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Final Four
The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”