Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances 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 got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
