Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden 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 maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
