Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
