Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
