Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic 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 going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
