Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’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 were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
