Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.
The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.
“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first taken on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” Healy commented.
This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.
But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.
The 35-year-old skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.
Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clear catch off the same bowler but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”
