Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“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,” she added.
From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International 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 bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
