Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally 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 (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table 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 skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally 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 team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
