Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great 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 Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
