Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
