Alyssa Healy Fires Another Century to Send Australia into Cricket World Cup Final Four
The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” she added.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy 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, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”