Alyssa Healy Fires Another Century to Propel Australia into World Cup Knockout Stage
The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”