Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team'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 review,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
