Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
