Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted 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 exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first 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 World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
