Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
