Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty 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 maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures 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 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
