Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
