Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final 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 wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
