Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest 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 felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
