Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
