Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, 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 the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished 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 fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” 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.”
