Healy Blasts a Second Century to Power the Australian Team into World Cup Final Four

The Australian skipper has produced superb back-to-back hundreds to guide her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

Healy finished not out on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84no) to chase to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed possibly the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling a couple of the half-dozen catches that were missed.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

From the time statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked Australia’s worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to ensuring the team's chase remained manageable.

The Captain Delighted with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to learn that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from her partner later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

The Opener Impresses with First World Cup Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, reaching to her first World Cup half-century off 46 balls shortly after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire turned down their shout.

The reinstated Darcie Brown sent down the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowler, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads

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

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (2-48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to 13.

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side four days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”