Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat 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’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
