Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
