Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding 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 trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
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 fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’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 victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped 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 Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice 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 the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
