Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
