Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“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,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
