Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
