Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
