Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning 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 vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped 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 her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
