Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest 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 review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
