Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two 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 delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
