Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad 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, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve 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 simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to 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 recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
