Alyssa Healy Fires Another Century to Send the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals
The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership 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 probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”