Healy Hammers Another Ton to Send the Australian Team into Cricket World Cup Semi-Finals

Alyssa Healy has delivered superb back-to-back hundreds to lead her squad into the last four of the World Cup, inspiring them to a commanding 10-wicket trouncing over Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113, arriving just four days after her similarly stellar 142 that defeated the Indian team at the identical Visakhapatnam stadium. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their target of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.

“I thought I was a below par behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well today, but we’ll take the win and move on,” she said.

Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's run-chase as the duo added 202 followed perhaps Australia’s weakest display in the fielding department under Healy’s stewardship, with the captain criticizing herself in especial for dropping two of the half-dozen chances that went down.

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

From the time data was first recorded on fielding metrics in the year 2013, the six dropped catches marked the team's poorest fielding showing at a World Cup tournament.

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

It helped the opposition to eke out 9-198 after they had opted to bat, their best-ever total in an ODI against the Aussies, with a key batter scoring the maiden half-century ever for the Asian side against the world champions.

But Alana King mesmeric continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was vital to making sure Australia’s chase wasn’t too challenging.

Healy Delighted with Win that Confirms Knockout Place

Healy was thrilled to discover that the triumph, which places her undefeated team at the top of the standings on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, secures them a berth in the semi-finals. “That's fantastic,” she said.

The experienced skipper sped to her century off just 73 balls, the fastest century of the World Cup, and ended with 20 boundaries off the 77 deliveries she faced as she pulled away from her partner later in the innings after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

The Opener Shines with First World Cup Fifty

The young batter Litchfield struck 12 boundaries and one maximum, reaching to her first tournament half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after her partner got there off 43. They went on to record the third-highest stand by any Aussie duo at a Women’s World Cup.

In the first innings, during the subpar fielding effort, the captain dropped the simplest of chances off Darcie Brown and also was unable to grasp a difficult skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear catch off Brown but failed to review when the official turned down their appeal.

The reinstated Brown bowled the fastest balls at the World Cup so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.

Spinners Excel as King Leads

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

Other spin bowlers Wareham (2-22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland strengthened her standing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with her two for 41, bringing her tally to thirteen.

A batter's 44 runs and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 runs off 80 deliveries took the team to their record total against the Aussies, but the total was made to look straightforward by a side who had successfully pursued 330 against the Indian side a few days before.

“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ next to your name in a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “Certainly it won't end here. We look forward to going back to Indore to take on the English team and the Proteas.”

Jessica Holloway
Jessica Holloway

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in SEO and content marketing, passionate about helping businesses thrive online.

September 2026 Blog Roll

Popular Post