Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless comprehensive victory over their opponents.
Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” Healy continued.
Since data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy said.
This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Fifty
The young batter Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls 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 King Leads
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’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 straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”
