Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter 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. 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 subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic 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 going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
