Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought 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 move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, 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 practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
