Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden 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 maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted 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, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
