Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, 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 (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four 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. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
