Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
