Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
