Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“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 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, 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 top of the standings on nine points after four wins 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 finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
