Healy Hammers a Second Century to Power Australia into World Cup Final Four
The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper 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 had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”