Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
