Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, 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 practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
