Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand 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 Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
