🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant comprehensive win over Bangladesh.

Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches 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.

Since data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.

This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Spot

Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied 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 rejected their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Stars

Instead, the spinners excelled, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.

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

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to face the English team and South Africa.”