Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked 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 something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”
