Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
