Alyssa Healy has executed superb back-to-back centuries to lead her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.
Healy finished unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.
“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.
From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's poorest 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 commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.
But the spinner's mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Victory that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars
Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered 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’ next to 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 take on England and South Africa.”
