Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced 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 Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated 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 another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
