Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam 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 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed 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 while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
