Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, 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 half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
