Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side 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 great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”
