Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
