Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted 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, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
