Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” 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 fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
