Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest 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 something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
