Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little 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 score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
