Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“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 two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing 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 analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana 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.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
