Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest 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 Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
