Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest 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 reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
