Alyssa Healy Hammers Another Century to Power Australia into World Cup Knockout Stage
Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive win over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt 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 progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since data was initially recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain commented.
This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”