Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top 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 record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
