Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in 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 felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest 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 ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts 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 exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers 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 sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered 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 global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
