Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing 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 batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India 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 Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
