Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls 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.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
