Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the 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 really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. 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, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful 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 contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic 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 going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
