Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest 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 innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
