Alyssa Healy Fires a Second Hundred to Send Australia into World Cup Final Four
Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”