Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look 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 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 the English team and the Proteas.”
