Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
