Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
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 wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp 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 rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest 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.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
