Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping 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 batting, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”