Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
