Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) 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 skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
