Alyssa Healy Hammers Another Century to Power Australia into World Cup Final Four

The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.

Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after perhaps Australia’s poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that were missed.

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

From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Maybe it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.

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

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten side top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 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 tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team 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 global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to face England and South Africa.”

Dominique Allen
Dominique Allen

A dedicated nurse educator with over 15 years of experience in clinical practice and academic instruction, passionate about mentoring future healthcare professionals.