Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated 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 race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented Australia’s poorest 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 an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side 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 great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
