Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
