🔗 Share this article

The Australian skipper has executed outstanding consecutive hundreds to steer her squad into the semi-finals of the Women's Cricket World Cup, driving them to a dominant 10-wicket victory over their opponents.

The wicketkeeper-batter remained unbeaten on 113, coming just a few days after her equally brilliant 142-run knock that defeated the Indian team at the same Vizag stadium. This time, she combined in an unbroken double-century first-wicket stand with Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to dash to their target of 199 runs in just under 25 overs.

“I felt I was a below par with the gloves, and perhaps a bit as skipper as well tonight, but we’ll accept the two points and move on,” Healy remarked.

Interestingly, the utmost professionalism of the day's chase as the pair added 202 runs followed possibly Australia’s weakest performance in the field under the captain's leadership, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for spilling two of the half-dozen catches that went down.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I had a little bit to make up for with the bat, and luckily succeeded,” she added.

From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance metrics in the year 2013, the six missed opportunities marked the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.

“Maybe it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll reflect on,” Healy said.

It helped the opposition to manage 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their best-ever total in an One-Day International against the Aussies, with a key batter compiling the maiden fifty ever for the Asian side against the reigning champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous 10-over bowling performance, in which she claimed two wickets for 18 runs with four maidens, was vital to making sure the team's chase remained manageable.

Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which puts her unbeaten side 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 great news,” she said.

The experienced captain raced to her century off just 73 deliveries, the fastest hundred of the World Cup, and finished 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 fifties.

Litchfield Impresses with First World Cup Half-Century

The young batter Phoebe Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, getting to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest partnership by any Australian pair at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the sluggish fielding effort, the captain spilled the easiest of chances off a teammate and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off Brown but failed to review when the umpire rejected their shout.

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

Spin Attack Thrive as King Stars

In contrast, the slow bowlers excelled, spearheaded by Alana King, whose performance could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t missed 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 Annabel Sutherland consolidated her position as the competition's leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, taking her total to 13.

A batter's 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 balls took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the target was made to look easy meat by a team who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days earlier.

“It’s always nice when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a global tournament,” said star performer Alana King. “No doubt it doesn’t stop here. We look forward to going back to the next venue to take on England and South Africa.”