Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries 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 Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”
