Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 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 star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
