Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
