Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented 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 little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
