Chasing 300. In a World Cup game . With the stands full of noisy opposition supporters. Not the easiest job, unless you are Alyssa Healy . Or Ellyse Perry, for that matter. It required a record-breaking effort with the bat, and Australia did it with a whole over in hand. "That's a really cool stat", Healy said afterwards, and will give the batters "a heap of confidence" for the rest of the tournament.

The innings Healy played - 142 in 107 balls - was the bedrock of that chase. Her sixth ODI century, but her first since April 2022. She has missed a fair bit of cricket in the interim period but it's still a gap of 25 innings between centuries, and only her second fifty-plus score of the calendar year. Talk about good timing.

"I think I was just trying to contribute. I think it needed

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