Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
