Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”