Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-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 Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
