Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team'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 an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear 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 nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, 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 spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
