Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls 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 effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, 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.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
