Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
