Bravery powers Alyssa Healy's record-breaking knock
Alyssa Healy rewrote the history books in yesterday's Women's Cricket World Cup Final with a superb century. It helped Australia beat England by 71 runs in Christchurch.
Healy's score of 170 is the highest individual score by a batter in a World Cup final (men and women), surpassing Adam Gilchrist's 149 runs in 2007.
She also became the first player to score two hundred in the knockouts of the same ODI World Cup, having previously notched up a century in the semifinals against the West Indies.
World Cup semi: hundred.
World Cup final: hundred.
Not bad, Healy. Not bad. https://t.co/RGrdVtaMYL
Like all of Australia, The Chappell Foundation, stands and applauds Alyssa Healy, our ambassador and a great supporter of homeless youth. A record 170 in the World Cup final. She is one of our greatest cricketers of all time.
Brilliant stuff Alyssa.
Pic Credit: Channel 7 Sports https://t.co/B5lPa1Ky0l
Healy danced up and down the wicket and along the crease in an incredible batting display that saw shots slammed all around Hagley Oval in a seemingly effortless manner.
It was the second-highest score by an Australian in women's ODIs (behind Belinda Clark's 229* in 1997), while it was also the highest individual score by a wicketkeeper in Women's ODIs.
Speaking to the media after the match, Healy revealed a no-look-back attitude when approaching a record-breaking knock at the crease.
"But, 'brave'? I just think you've got to be brave to come out in situations like that to be able to play your game," she said.
She added:
"You know that the opposition are going to come really hard at you. They want to take your wicket early and you got to be brave and back your skills. So, personally, I'm really proud of that. I still don't think I'm a big-game player. So, turn that down, but you just got to be brave to be able to do it."
The knock capped off a brilliant tournament for Healy, in which she scored 509 runs, the first time that has occurred in the Women's ODI World Cup.
Healy was part of two 150-run plus partnerships in a single match (for just the second time in women's ODIs). The first came (160) with Rachael Haynes before adding another 156 with Beth Mooney, making both the two highest partnerships in Women's ODI World Cup finals.
The stands powered Australia to a first innings total of 356/5, the first ever instance of a 300-plus total in a Women's ODI World Cup final. It was also the third-highest total in women's ODIs.
Healy helps Australia reaffirm their place at the top of women's world cricket
The ongoing success of the Australian women's team places it ahead of all-comers in women's cricket.
They reaffirmed their stature as world leaders with this victory, off the back of Cricket Australia's unwavering commitment to investing in the women's game in Australia.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 Final
💥 ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 Final
Ashleigh Gardner takes the winning catch
💥 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 Final
Ashleigh Gardner takes the winning catch
#CWC22 https://t.co/GYHPorjOoh
The fruits of which saw the Women's big Bash League season reach new heights last year. More than half a million people tuned in to last year's WBBL finals on TV and streaming platforms, with a combined audience of 535,000 surpassing the previous record of 506,000.
The WBBL has played a massive role in setting players up to come into international cricket and perform almost right away.