Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
