Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding back-to-back hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
