Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six 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 little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 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 world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side 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 really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
