🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has delivered brilliant consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.

Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars

In contrast, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her total to 13.

A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days before.

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