Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two 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 fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock 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 a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
