Australia's women's World T20 champions have vowed to stay close and strong after an emotional day when they feared both their inspiring captain and comeback pace-bowling ace might have suffered tournament-ending injuries.
With just nine days left of what otherwise has been a super-smooth World Cup title defence in the UAE, the champions are suddenly facing a dispiriting double blow with both skipper Alyssa Healy and quick Tayla Vlaeminck stricken on the day Australia, ironically, all but cruised into the semi-finals in Dubai.
Still unbeaten after their nine-wicket stroll over Pakistan, the squad were left fearful over whether they'll lose leader Healy, who's taken the reins so brilliantly from previous skipper Meg Lanning this year, after suffering what was described as an "acute right foot injury" while running during her match-winning innings.
