Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 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 something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record 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 four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
