Alyssa Healy Blasts Another Hundred to Power the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Final Four
The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 followed perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”