Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic 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 the English team and South Africa.”
