Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
