Healy Blasts Another Ton to Power Australia into World Cup Semi-Finals
The Australian skipper has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“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,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”