Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
