Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
