Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges 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 didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
