Alyssa Healy Fires a Second Hundred to Power the Australian Team into World Cup Final Four

Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a commanding comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished unbeaten on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I felt I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme professionalism of Thursday’s chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

Since statistics was initially recorded on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the six dropped opportunities marked the team's worst fielding showing at a Women’s World Cup.

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

It helped the opposition to manage 9-198 after they had chosen to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But the spinner's mesmeric continuous 10-over spell, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Seals Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team top of the standings on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she accelerated from her partner later in the innings after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 balls soon after her partner reached hers off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, Healy dropped the simplest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also did take a clean catch off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their shout.

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

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads

In contrast, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose spell could have been even more productive if a fielder hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her position as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had chased down 330 against India four days earlier.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match Alana King. “Certainly it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to face England and South Africa.”