🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has produced superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a commanding 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs followed perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and fortunately got the job done,” she added.

From the time data was first recorded on fielding statistics in 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll review,” Healy commented.

It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting 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 stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars

In contrast, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

Other spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side a few days earlier.

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