Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team 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, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries 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 fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
