Alyssa Healy Hammers a Second Century to Send Australia into Cricket World Cup Knockout Stage

Alyssa Healy has produced superb consecutive centuries to guide her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her equally impressive 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to race to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair added 202 came after perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the captain scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily got the job done,” Healy continued.

From the time data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in 2013, the six dropped catches represented the team's worst fielding showing 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,” the captain said.

This allowed the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world 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 Win that Confirms Semi-Final Spot

The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the victory, which puts her unbeaten team top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's great news,” she said.

The experienced captain sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup fifty off 46 deliveries soon after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Australian duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to hold on to a difficult lofted one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown sent down the fastest deliveries at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the Aussies’ costliest bowler, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Stars

Instead, the spinners thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's top wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her tally to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Australians, but the total was rendered straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against the Indian side a few days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to face England and the Proteas.”

Tracie Williams
Tracie Williams

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