Alyssa Healy Hammers a Second Century to Propel the Australian Team into World Cup Knockout Stage

The Australian skipper has executed brilliant consecutive centuries to steer her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a merciless 10-wicket win over their opponents.

Healy remained not out on 113, arriving just a few days after her similarly impressive 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the same Vizag venue. This time, she shared an undefeated 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a little bit poor with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme professionalism of the day's run-chase as the duo put on 202 followed possibly Australia’s shoddiest performance in the fielding department under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for dropping two of the six chances that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and fortunately got the job done,” Healy continued.

Since statistics was initially taken on fielding metrics in 2013, the six missed catches represented Australia’s poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 9-198 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maidens, was crucial to ensuring Australia’s target remained manageable.

Healy Delighted with Victory that Confirms Knockout Spot

The Australian skipper was pleased to discover that the triumph, which puts her undefeated side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

The young batter Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her first World Cup fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a difficult lofted one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clear catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.

The reinstated Brown sent down the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the Aussies’ costliest bowling option, conceding 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the slow bowlers thrived, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

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

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days earlier.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We anticipate returning to Indore to take on England and South Africa.”

Samuel Warner
Samuel Warner

A tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and their impact on society.