🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly impressive 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair put on 202 came after possibly Australia’s weakest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever score in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place

The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old 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 faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Shines with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their shout.

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

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads

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

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 runs and another's not out 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”