Healy Hammers a Second Hundred to Propel Australia into Cricket World Cup Final Four
The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display 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,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It’s always nice 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 look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”