Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century 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 remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team 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 World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
