Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading 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 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
