Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
