Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) 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 little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
