Alyssa Healy Fires Another Hundred to Power Australia into World Cup Final Four

Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant comprehensive win over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her equally impressive 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily delivered,” she added.

Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a little while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” the captain said.

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 Australia, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric unbroken ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Spot

Healy was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the World Cup, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically shot for shot towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Australian pair at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.

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

Spinners Excel as King Stars

Instead, the spinners thrived, spearheaded by King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed one in the slip cordon.

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

A batter's 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was made to look easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 against India a few days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to Indore to face England and the Proteas.”

Leslie Kirby
Leslie Kirby

A passionate mountaineer and landscape photographer who documents high-altitude expeditions and shares insights on sustainable outdoor exploration.