Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian 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 hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs 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,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
