Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off 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 dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
