Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team'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 review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
