Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
