Healy Hammers Another Century to Power Australia into Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals
Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.
Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling a couple of the six chances 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 succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” the captain said.
It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot
The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as King Leads
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and 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, taking her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days before.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and the Proteas.”