Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance 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 bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
