Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team 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 great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
