Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches 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.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
