Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team 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 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record 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 easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
