Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, 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 almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
