Alyssa Healy Blasts Another Century to Send the Australian Team into World Cup Semi-Finals
The Australian skipper has produced outstanding back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”