Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
