Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
