Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”