Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
