Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities 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 review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
