Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’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 something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
