Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“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 said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side 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 King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
