Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. 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, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
