Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India 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 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
