Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down 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 taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
