Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches 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 delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
