Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest 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 reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
