Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing 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 reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
