Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score 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 maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
