Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
