Alyssa Healy Hits Another Ton To Power Australia Into Women’s World Cup Semi-finals

Alyssa Healy has completed superb back-to-back centuries to lead her Australian squad into nan semi-finals of nan World Cup, inspiring them to a merciless 10-wicket trouncing of Bangladesh.

Healy deed an unbeaten 113, coming conscionable 4 days aft her arsenic superb 142 that saw disconnected hosts India astatine nan aforesaid Visakhapatnam stadium, this clip sharing an unbroken double-century opening business pinch Phoebe Litchfield (84no) to title to their target of 199 successful conscionable 24.5 overs.

Ironically, nan ultimate professionalism of Thursday’s pursuit arsenic nan brace put connected 202 came aft possibly Australia’s shoddiest show successful nan section nether Healy’s stewardship, pinch nan skipper scolding herself successful peculiar for spilling 2 of nan six catches that went down.

“I thought I was a small spot mediocre down nan stumps, and astir apt a small spot arsenic skipper arsenic good tonight, but we’ll return nan 2 points and move on,” she said.

“I was a small spot disappointed pinch my glovework and I had a small spot to dress up for pinch nan bat, and luckily sewage nan occupation done.”

Since information was first taken connected fielding statistic successful 2013, nan half-dozen dropped catches represented Australia’s worst fielding show astatine a Women’s World Cup.

“Maybe it’s conscionable that clip of nan tourney – we’ve been present a small while, and it’s thing we’ll bespeak on,” Healy said.

It helped Bangladesh eke retired 9-198 aft they had chosen to bat, their highest full successful an ODI against Australia, pinch Sobhana Mostary compiling nan first half-century ever for nan Asian broadside against nan world champions.

But Alana King’s mesmeric unbroken 10-over spell, successful which she took 2-18 pinch 4 maidens, was cardinal to ensuring Australia’s target wasn’t excessively challenging.

Alana King of Australia bowls during nan ICC Women's Cricket World Cup India 2025 lucifer betwixt Australia and Bangladesh Photograph: Unnati Naidu/SPP/Shutterstock

Healy was delighted to study that nan victory, which puts her unbeaten broadside apical of nan group array connected 9 points aft 4 wins and a wash-out, guarantees them a spot successful nan last-four. “That’s really cool,” she said.

The 35-year-old skipper sped to her 100 disconnected conscionable 73 balls, nan fastest period of nan tournament, and ended pinch 20 boundaries disconnected nan 77 deliveries she faced arsenic she pulled distant from Litchfield later successful nan innings aft they had gone practically boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.

Left-hander Litchfield struck 12 fours and a six, getting to her first World Cup half-century disconnected 46 balls soon aft Healy sewage location disconnected 43. They went connected to grounds nan third-highest business by immoderate Australian brace astatine a Women’s World Cup.

Earlier, during nan sluggish fielding effort, Healy spilled nan simplest of edges disconnected Darcie Brown and besides grounded to grasp a difficult lofted 1 disconnected Annabel Sutherland. Frustratingly, she besides did return a cleanable drawback disconnected Brown but didn’t person it reviewed erstwhile nan umpire rejected their appeal.

The recalled Brown sent down nan fastest deliveries astatine nan World Cup truthful acold but was still nan Aussies’ astir costly bowler, going for 0-52 disconnected her 9 overs.

Instead, nan spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could person been moreover productive if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped 1 successful nan slips.

Fellow spinners Georgia Wareham (2-22 disconnected seven) and Ash Gardner (2-48 disconnected nine) some chipped in, while Sutherland consolidated her position arsenic nan tournament’s starring wicket-taker pinch her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.

Rubya Haider’s 44 and Mostary’s unbeaten 66 disconnected 80 balls took Bangladesh to their grounds full against nan Aussies, but nan full was made to look easy nutrient by a broadside who had chased down 330 against India 4 days earlier.

“It’s ever bully erstwhile you’ve sewage nan ‘Q’ adjacent to your sanction successful a World Cup,” said player-of-the-match King. “No uncertainty it doesn’t extremity here. We look guardant to going backmost to Indore to return connected England and South Africa.”