Healy Fires Another Ton to Propel Australia into World Cup Final Four

The Australian skipper has produced brilliant back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding comprehensive victory over their opponents.

Healy remained not out on 113 runs, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the six catches that went down.

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

Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

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

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

Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Place

Healy was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Shines with First World Cup Half-Century

Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Stars

Instead, the slow bowlers excelled, led by Alana King, whose spell could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.

A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”