Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
