Healy Blasts a Second Century to Send Australia into World Cup Knockout Stage

Alyssa Healy has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to guide her team into the semi-finals of the World Cup, driving them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.

Healy remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular 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 delivered,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's worst fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s something we’ll reflect on,” the captain commented.

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place

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

The 35-year-old captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their fifties.

Litchfield Shines with Maiden World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but failed to review when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowling option, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as Alana King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Other spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”