Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter 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 claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
