Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best 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 utmost professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
