Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
