Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding 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 succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
