Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
