Alyssa Healy Fires a Second Hundred to Power the Australian Team into World Cup Final Four

The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over Bangladesh.

Healy remained not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of Thursday’s chase as the duo added 202 runs followed possibly the team's poorest display in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.

From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was key to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot

The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the victory, which places 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 semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record score against the Aussies, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side 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,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”

Karen Rogers
Karen Rogers

Award-winning astrophysicist and science communicator passionate about making space accessible to everyone.

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