Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
