Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked 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 while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased 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 wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
