🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant back-to-back centuries to steer her squad into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and probably a bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.

Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

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

But Alana King spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Seals Knockout Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 fours and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The recalled Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana 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) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Australians, but the target was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against India four days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and the Proteas.”