Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
