Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – 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 chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, 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 maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
