Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“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 said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“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 doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
