🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has executed superb consecutive hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s shoddiest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping a couple of the half-dozen chances that went down.

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

From the time data was first taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s something we’ll analyze,” Healy said.

It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to ensuring the team's target remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

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

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowler, conceding 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars

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

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (2-48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 against India four days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”