Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little 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 highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
