Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, 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 professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst 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,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced 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 accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon 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 was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow 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 tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 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 King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
