🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has produced brilliant consecutive centuries to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113 runs, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that defeated hosts India at the identical Vizag venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll take the win and progress,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of the day's run-chase as the pair put on 202 runs followed perhaps Australia’s poorest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain scolding herself in especial for dropping a couple of the six catches that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately succeeded,” she added.

Since statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six missed opportunities marked Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to manage 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, 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 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure Australia’s chase remained manageable.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Confirms Semi-Final Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest 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.

The Opener Shines with First Tournament Fifty

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

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain dropped the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clean catch off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ most expensive bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been more successful if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Annabel Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her tally to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record score against the Australians, but the total was rendered easy meat by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.

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