Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
