Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six 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 luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing 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,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
