Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel 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 (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
