🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has executed outstanding back-to-back centuries to lead her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113, arriving 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 double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the field under the captain's stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six chances that were missed.

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

From the time statistics was first taken on fielding statistics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Perhaps it’s just that time of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.

This allowed Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's great news,” she exclaimed.

The experienced captain sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie pair at a World Cup event.

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

The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars

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

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked star performer Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”