Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
