Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing 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 review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official 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 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
