Alyssa Healy Blasts a Second Hundred to Send Australia into Cricket World Cup Final Four

The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her equally impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was key to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended 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 fifties.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

In contrast, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to face the English team and South Africa.”

Jon Hogan
Jon Hogan

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