Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
