Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings 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 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team 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 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
