Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
