🔗 Share this article

Alyssa Healy has produced outstanding consecutive centuries to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, driving them to a dominant comprehensive trouncing over their opponents.

Healy finished unbeaten on 113, arriving just a few days after her equally stellar 142-run knock that saw off hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to race to their goal of 199 in just 24.5 overs.

“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll take the two points and progress,” she said.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the duo added 202 runs came after perhaps the team's shoddiest performance in the fielding department under the captain's leadership, with the skipper scolding herself in especial for spilling two of the six catches that went down.

“I felt somewhat let down with my wicketkeeping, and I had a little bit to make up for with the batting, and fortunately delivered,” Healy continued.

Since data was initially taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the half-dozen missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a World Cup tournament.

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

This allowed the opposition to eke out 198 for 9 after they had opted to bat, their highest total in an ODI against Australia, with a key batter compiling the first fifty ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she took 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to ensuring the team's chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Pleased with Win that Seals Semi-Final Place

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

The experienced skipper sped to her hundred off just 73 deliveries, the quickest century of the tournament, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she confronted as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Impresses with Maiden Tournament Half-Century

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and a six, getting to her maiden tournament fifty off 46 balls soon after Healy got there off 43. They went on to achieve the third-highest partnership by any Aussie pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled the easiest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough lofted one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clean chance off Brown but failed to review when the official rejected their shout.

The recalled Brown sent down the quickest balls at the World Cup so far but was nonetheless the team's costliest bowling option, going for 52 runs without a wicket off her nine overs.

Spin Attack Excel as Alana King Leads

Instead, the spinners excelled, spearheaded by King, whose performance could have been even more productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slip cordon.

Other spin bowlers Georgia Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her total to 13.

A batter's 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 balls took the team to their highest-ever score against the Australians, but the target was rendered straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 runs against the Indian side four days before.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said star performer Alana King. “Certainly it won't end here. We anticipate returning to the next venue to take on the English team and South Africa.”