Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead 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 unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
