Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
