Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding 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 had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred 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 later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, 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 star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
