Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
