Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
