Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 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 partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
