Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Excel as King Stars
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs 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 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,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
