Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
