Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
