Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table 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 experienced 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 later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
