Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented 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 analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led 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 (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
