Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
