Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared 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 thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest 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 clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
