Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side 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 doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
