Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side at the 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 really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
