Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
