Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
