Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
