🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has delivered superb consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” the captain commented.

This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place

Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their shout.

The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars

Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”