Australia might look back on their hard-fought win over Pakistan in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup with plenty of satisfaction. The defending champions were made to earn every run, relying on Beth Mooney’s composed 109 to steer them to 220, a total that eventually resulted in a 107-run victory, thanks to another Pakistan collapse at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
It was a performance built on grit rather than dominance, as Mooney held the innings together through testing periods, receiving crucial support from the lower order and tactical guidance from the dressing room.
“I’m mentally a bit fried now, having spent so much time in my head for the majority of that batting innings,” Mooney admitted after the match.
“We know that teams like Pakistan are front runners when they’re flying … and about. If you get a little partnership going, they can get a little bit flat and you can open the game up that way. So, I knew we had a long time to bat, so we didn’t have to do anything too rash. And we were still moving the scoreboard slightly, not probably as much as we’re used to, but that scenario demanded that of us a little bit. And then as the game went on, the game opened up a little bit more for us as batters and we were able to score a little bit more freely. So I think the time left in the game certainly helped with the less panic. So just pleased we got over the line. The bowlers backed up the batting unit,” she added.
While Mooney anchored the innings, Kim Garth (11 off 47) provided valuable resistance, and Alana King (51 off 49) injected late momentum with her first ODI half-century. Throughout her innings, Mooney leaned on inputs from Australia’s coaching staff to help her manage the tempo and stay focused.
“(I was) trying to find out at what point I could start being a little bit more expansive,” she said.
“I think at that point there were maybe 15 overs left. So (I was after) just a number or an over that I could start playing a few more shots and a couple of other messages around certain bowlers and different plans to them.
I did wonder if we could have (batted more aggressively) a little bit earlier. But at the same time, 220 ended up being more than enough. So yeah, I think it’s hard to look back and wonder if I should have played differently when the game panned out how it did.
It’s really nice to have obviously (coaches) Dan Marsh and Shelley Nitschke on the sideline and Scott Prestwidge and Gav Twining who played a lot of cricket, they know their stuff. I don’t shy away from feedback as the game’s going on. I think those games are really important to use the resources around you. So, any opportunity I got to get a message I think was really important given the context of the scenario,” she further said.
For Pakistan, it was their third consecutive loss in the tournament, after previously losing to Bangladesh and India.