Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple 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 luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
