Alyssa Healy Fires a Second Hundred to Propel Australia into World Cup Final Four
Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest 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 review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”