Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps 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.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries 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 fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
