Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“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.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
