Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst 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 reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter 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 crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
