Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
