Alyssa Healy has executed superb consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.
“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six catches that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
The Australian skipper was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.
The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.
The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
