Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
