Alyssa Healy has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.
“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.
Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“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.
Since statistics was initially taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities represented the team's poorest 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 analyze,” Healy said.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot
Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.
The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.
In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and 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, bringing her tally to thirteen.
A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.
“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and South Africa.”
