Alyssa Healy Hammers Another Ton to Power Australia into World Cup Semi-Finals

Alyssa Healy has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket win over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time data was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing 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 reflect on,” the captain commented.

It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place

The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

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

Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.

A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India four days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”

Craig Johnson
Craig Johnson

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