The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
