Alyssa Healy Hammers Another Century to Propel the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Knockout Stage
The Australian skipper has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked 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 while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana 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 (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India a few days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”