Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest 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 an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
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 a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins 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 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
