Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, 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 slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
