Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
