Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple 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,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
