Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for spilling 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 batting, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
