Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches 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 got the job done,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”
