Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
