Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding 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 bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
