Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping 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 delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
