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 commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
