Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
