Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team'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 something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
