Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase 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 bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
