Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
