Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.
Healy remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.
Ironically, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.
“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.
Since statistics was first recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” Healy commented.
It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score 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 unbroken ten-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.
The Captain Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place
The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her undefeated team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.
The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Half-Century
Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.
In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.
Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars
In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.
Other spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to thirteen.
A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.
“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and the Proteas.”
