Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
