Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy make cricket history in T20 series win over South Africa
The Aussies achieved some special history in the deciding match of the T20 series.
Another brilliant knock from Beth Mooney led Australia to victory in the third T20 against South Africa on Tuesday night amid a number of historic feats for the Aussies. Mooney has sick all day with an upset stomach, but still managed to star in the five-wicket victory at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
The opener peeled off 82 from just 55 balls as the Aussies chased down South Africa's total of 7-162 with four balls to spare. Mooney, who also hit an unbeaten 72 in the opening game of the series, finished with 11 fours and one six on Tuesday night as Australia claimed the series 2-1.
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In doing so she moved into outright second on the list of most 50-plus scores in women's T20 internationals. Mooney now has 24 scores of 50 or more in T20Is, just four behind Suzie Bates' all-time record of 28.
Incredibly, Mooney's 24 have come in just 89 innings, while Bates took 149 innings for her 28. Indian batter Smriti Mandhana took 124 innings to get 23 (third on the list). Mooney's knock of 82 on Tuesday night was also the fifth-highest score for Australia in a run chase in a women's T20 international.
Karen Rolton holds the record with 96 against England in 2005, while Tahlia McGrath made 91 not out against the Poms in 2022. Mooney makes up the next three spots on the list, with 89 not out against India in 2022, 86 not out against England in 2017, and her 82 on Tuesday night.
Alyssa Healy, who only made 10 on Tuesday night, also made some impressive history nonetheless. The new Aussie captain became just the fourth Australian woman to score 6000 runs in international cricket, joining Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Rolton.
Lanning, who recently retired from international cricket, heads up the list with 8352 runs for Australia across all formats (in 241 games). Perry had 6618 as of Tuesday night (304 games), while Rolton made 6221 throughout her career in just 170 matches. As of Tuesday night, Healy had 6007 runs in 265 matches.
Wow, what a fantastic performance from Beth Mooney and the Aussies in the T20I series against South Africa! They really showed their class and determination to come out on top with a well-deserved 4-2 lead in the multi-format series.
— Sonam Murarkar (@murarkar_sonam) January 30, 2024
Beth Mooney celebrating her ascent to world no 1 T20 batter in style
Scoring 82 in a chase where only one other batter went past 16
She has 12 50+ scores in T20Is in Australia, the most ever by any player
She becomes the 4th player to score 1000 runs in winning chases in T20Is https://t.co/IedNKCcP1x— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) January 30, 2024
Most 50+ scores in women's T20Is:
28 Suzie Bates NZ (149 innings)
24 Beth Mooney AUS (89) 👈
23 Smriti Mandhana IND (124)
22 Stafanie Taylor WI (114)
19 Sophie Devine NZ (124)#AUSvSA https://t.co/itilTi8oO2— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) January 30, 2024
congrats midge!
but imagine if meg played for another few years 👀— Alicia Herondale⸆⸉🍉 (@AliciaGarnett8) January 30, 2024
legend of the game 💪
— Jesse (@dankmotherbetss) January 30, 2024
Woww! Meg scored huge amount runs from less number of matches. Imagine her playing another 5 years. 30+ centuries confirm for her
— PN (@PN7643) January 30, 2024
Beth Mooney rises from sick bed to lead Australia to victory
Mooney's match-winning knock came after South Africa had posted their highest score in a T20 against Australia, headlined by a career-best 75 from 48 balls from Marizanne Kapp. South Africa forced a live decider in the T20 series after notching their first-ever win over Australia in any format of women's cricket on Sunday to level the ledger at 1-1.
The three T20s games make up part of a multi-format series, which also includes three ODIs and one Test match to follow. Healy later revealed that Mooney had been a touch "under the weather" and could have missed the game.
"All I've heard is maybe a dodgy sashimi," Healy said. "I messaged her in the afternoon at about one o'clock and said 'are you alright?'. She sent me back a selfie of her lying in bed saying 'I think I need some fresh air'.
"There was a real possibility she wouldn't play. She got to the ground, had a good warm-up and felt like she could contribute."
Kapp praised her team's performance despite the loss. "(After the poor start) if you look at years ago we probably would have been bowled out for 80-100," she said. "The way we've been fighting with bat and ball is so good to see and we can only get stronger as a team."
with AAP
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