Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
