Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
