Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”
