Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“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 Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament 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 Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated 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 unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
