Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic 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 look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
