Alyssa Healy Fires Another Hundred to Propel Australia into Cricket World Cup Knockout Stage

The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” she added.

From the time statistics was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

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

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads

Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”

Mary Novak
Mary Novak

A digital archivist and tech historian with over a decade of experience in preserving and analyzing digital artifacts.