Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs 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. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
