Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
