Alyssa Healy Blasts Another Ton to Propel the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Knockout Stage
The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”