Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“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 statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
