Healy Fires a Second Hundred to Send Australia into World Cup Knockout Stage
The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked 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 Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century 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.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”