Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers 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 sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
