Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
