Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“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 said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated 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 skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries 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.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
