Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team 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 raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
