Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win 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 wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, 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 practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
