Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was delighted to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”
