Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner 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 subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless 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 spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side 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 won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
