Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
