Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
