Alyssa Healy has delivered 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.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup 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 Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
