Healy Hammers a Second Ton to Send Australia into Cricket World Cup Final Four
Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”