Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
