Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 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 returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”