Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain'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 luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
