Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase 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 tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team 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 exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. 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 display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
