🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her team into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just four days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run first-wicket stand with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a not at my best behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 came after perhaps the team's weakest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.

Since statistics was first taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with a key batter scoring the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Delighted with Victory that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the victory, which puts her undefeated side top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she said.

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

The Opener Shines with Maiden Tournament Fifty

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

Earlier, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a tough lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was still the team's most expensive bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads

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

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had chased down 330 runs against India a few days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate going back to Indore to take on the English team and South Africa.”