Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“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 Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
