Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp 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 official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
