Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display 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 went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”
