Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
