The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display 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 review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
