Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
