Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest 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 analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell 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 Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
