Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”