Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
