Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed 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 a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
