Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Spot
Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”
