Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing 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,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup 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 Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, 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’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
