Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side 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 great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
