Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
