Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
