Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs 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 four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
