Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
