Alyssa Healy Blasts Another Ton to Send the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Knockout Stage

Alyssa Healy has executed brilliant consecutive hundreds to guide her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive win over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that saw off hosts India at the same Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken double-century opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to chase to their target 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 two points and progress,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost professionalism of Thursday’s run-chase as the duo added 202 followed possibly the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for spilling two of the half-dozen chances that went down.

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

Since statistics was initially taken on fielding performance statistics in 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display 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 said.

It helped the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the first half-century ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maidens, was key to making sure the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Knockout Place

Healy was thrilled to learn that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a abandoned match, guarantees them a place in the last-four. “That's great news,” she said.

The experienced skipper raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she faced as she pulled away from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries soon after her partner reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest stand by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during the subpar fielding display, the captain 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 take a clean chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the umpire rejected their appeal.

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

Spinners Thrive as King Stars

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

Fellow spinners Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and another's unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a World Cup,” said star performer King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”