Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.
“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper 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 abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”
