Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
