Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
