Healy Fires a Second Century to Propel Australia into World Cup Knockout Stage

The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally stellar 142 that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she combined in 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 thought I was a below par with the gloves, and probably a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the win and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair added 202 came after possibly the team's poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that went down.

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

Since statistics was first recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped Bangladesh to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s chase remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Spot

The Australian skipper was delighted to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated 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 really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from her partner later 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 Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls shortly after her partner got there off 43 balls. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.

The recalled Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Thrive as Alana King Stars

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

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

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.

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