Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
