Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown 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 umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking 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 Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
