Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular 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 luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
