Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
