Alyssa Healy Blasts a Second Hundred to Send Australia into Cricket World Cup Knockout Stage
The Australian skipper has executed superb back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her hundred 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 her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”