Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
