Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
