Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
