Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display 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 an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest 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 Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”
