Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I felt I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 came after perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – 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 opted to bat first, their highest score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries 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.
Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.
Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat 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’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
