Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, 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 Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic 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.”
