Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins 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 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
