Healy Blasts Another Century to Propel Australia into Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals
The Australian skipper has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time 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 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries 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 fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”