Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 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 bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls 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.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
