Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” 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 Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, 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 knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
