Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
