Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial 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 batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
