Australia captain Alyssa Healy praised Beth Mooney’s determined century that saved her side against Pakistan in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025.
Mooney came in at 30 for two and struggled to find a willing partner, but remained steadfast at the crease, running quick singles en route to 109 from 114 balls.
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She was supported at the end by Alana King, who made 51, before the spinner was the sixth Australia bowler to earn a wicket in her side’s 114-run win.
“That is probably one of the best innings I have seen Moons play and I have seen her bat a lot throughout my career,” said Healy, who was the first wicket to fall. “But I think hands down that is one of the best innings I have seen out there.
“Thanks to her we got ourselves on the board. At one point we would have taken 150-160 and tried to defend that so the fact we could get up to over 200 was a huge effort from her and Kingy at the back end.”
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Australia slipped to 76 for seven as Pakistan’s spinners bowled diligently and the fielders took catches when they presented them.
Some stumping brilliance from Sidra Nawaz brought King to the crease with Australia 115 for eight, and she and Mooney put on 106 runs before the latter was dismissed from the final ball of the innings.
With Australia having to defend 221 in Colombo, there was little time to recover for Mooney, who revealed she and King took turns dunking their head in ice cold water before returning to the field for Pakistan’s chase.
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The pace bowlers did the early work for Australia who reduced their opponents to 31 for five before spin took over to complete the victory.
Mooney said: “We were in a bit of a tricky situation towards the end when I was batting, so a lot of questions going from me to the bench asking what I needed to do.
“But I got a couple of partners at the end with Kim Garth and Alana King to get the partnerships going.
“The messaging from the sideline was just to get a partnership going, we lost some wickets in clumps through the middle, but if you really committed to a certain style of play and method that ended up working.
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“Pakistan bowlers bowled really well, spun the ball, some didn’t turn but we really had to grind for that one.”
Australia now travel to Visakhapatnam to take on hosts India in a huge clash, while Pakistan have a week’s rest before facing England.
For captain Fatima Sana, she hopes her side take something from the way Mooney conducted herself as she hit her first World Cup century.
“I think we were on top in the first 20 overs,” she said. “After that Beth Mooney played well and our energy was down, so we need to improve our energy.
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“If you are on top in the first 20 overs then you need to be on top until the last ball, we need the energy that we had in the 20 overs until the last ball.
“The way that Beth Mooney played was awesome to watch.”
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