Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest 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 Excel as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
