🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

“I thought I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.

It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place

Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.

The recalled Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars

Instead, the spinners excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slips.

Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”