Healy Hammers Another Ton to Send Australia into World Cup Semi-Finals
The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”