Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
