Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches 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 recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing 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.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team 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 really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century 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.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie 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 grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
