Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple 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 succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked 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 while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh 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’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
