Alyssa Healy Blasts Another Century to Propel the Australian Team into World Cup Semi-Finals

Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the Women's Cricket World Cup, motivating them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.

Healy finished not out on 113, coming just four days after her equally brilliant 142 that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she shared an undefeated double-century opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to dash to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 deliveries.

“I felt I was a not at my best with the gloves, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll accept the win and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the supreme expertise of the day's chase as the duo put on 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the six catches that went down.

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

From the time statistics was first recorded on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest score in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, in which she took two wickets for 18 runs with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure Australia’s target wasn’t too challenging.

The Captain Pleased with Victory that Seals Knockout Place

The Australian skipper was pleased to learn that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the group table on nine points after four victories and a wash-out, secures them a place in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she exclaimed.

The 35-year-old captain raced to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 balls she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the innings after they had gone almost shot for shot towards their half-centuries.

Litchfield Impresses with Maiden World Cup Fifty

Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and one maximum, reaching to her maiden tournament half-century off 46 deliveries soon after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to achieve the third-best stand by any Aussie duo at a World Cup event.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also was unable to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Annoyingly, she also did take a clean chance off Brown but didn’t have it reviewed when the official turned down their shout.

The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the quickest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as King Leads

Instead, the slow bowlers thrived, led by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Ash Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both chipped in, while Annabel Sutherland strengthened her standing as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took Bangladesh to their highest-ever total against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against India a few days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on the English team and the Proteas.”