Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst 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 something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield 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 got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded 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 overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side 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 World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
