Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
