Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding 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.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
