Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice 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 anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
