Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. 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 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain 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 take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
