Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding 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,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
