Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
