Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing 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 opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
