Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.
The experienced skipper raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their half-centuries.
The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.
The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
