Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
