Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries 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 duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
