The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries 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 half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
