🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket win over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 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 perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.

From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.

This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.

The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Stars

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”