Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team'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 an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
