Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84no) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen 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 fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.
From the time data was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that time 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 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot
Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside 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 Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
