Healy Blasts a Second Ton to Propel the Australian Team into World Cup Final Four

The Australian skipper has delivered superb consecutive hundreds to lead her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her similarly stellar 142-run knock that saw off the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an undefeated 200-run first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and perhaps a little bit as skipper as well today, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” she said.

Interestingly, the supreme expertise of Thursday’s run-chase as the pair added 202 runs came after possibly the team's weakest display in the field under Healy’s leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in particular for spilling two of the six chances that were missed.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my wicketkeeping, and I needed to compensate with the bat, and luckily got the job done,” she added.

Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

“Maybe it’s just that time of the competition – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll review,” the captain said.

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat, their highest total in an One-Day International against Australia, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the first half-century ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But the spinner's spellbinding unbroken ten-over bowling performance, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place

Healy was delighted to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten side at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a wash-out, secures them a berth in the last-four. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 boundaries off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield later in the knock after they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Impresses with First Tournament Fifty

Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43 balls. They went on to record the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to grasp a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.

The reinstated Darcie Brown bowled the fastest deliveries at the tournament so far but was nonetheless the team's most expensive bowler, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as Alana King Stars

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

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (2-22 off seven overs) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both chipped in, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, bringing her total to thirteen.

Rubya Haider’s 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was rendered easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India four days before.

“It's great when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to returning to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”

Mr. Daniel Reid
Mr. Daniel Reid

A software engineer and tech enthusiast passionate about gaming, AI, and digital innovation, sharing insights from the industry.