The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, 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 chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings 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 skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
