Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
