Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best 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 utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side 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 fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked 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.”
