Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing 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 luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display 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,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced 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 pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
