Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
