Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
