Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
