'That's Moons': Brave Beth beats heat once again

06 Oct 2024 Laura Jolly, at Sharjah Cricket Stadium

In Sharjah's oppressive afternoon sun, a red-faced Beth Mooney once again showed her fortitude in Australia's World Cup opener

Match Wrap | Schutt, Mooney lead Aussies to opening win

Death, taxes and Beth Mooney rising to the occasion when the heat is quite literally on.

When Australia’s revised T20 World Cup schedule was revealed, featuring one match in the afternoon Sharjah heat, it seemed inevitable that would be Mooney’s time to shine.

The left-hander has a natural tendency to struggle more than her teammates in oppressively hot conditions – despite also being one of the fittest athletes in a team of very fit athletes.

Mooney recalls epic knock and the moment the Heat won WBBL|04

But Mooney also has a remarkable mental fortitude and a knack for defying conditions and producing her best innings when physically under the pump.

It was the case in the WBBL|04 final, when an embattled Mooney shrugged off illness in scorching weather to guide Brisbane Heat to their first title.

Against India in late 2022, and against South Africa early this year, she rose from her sickbed to rescue Australia from perilous positions.

On Saturday, Mooney was starved of the strike as she watched Alyssa Healy, Georgia Wareham and Ellyse Perry all depart cheaply inside the Powerplay in Australia’s pursuit of 94 against Sri Lanka in tricky batting conditions.

The left-hander dug in, sharing a match-winning 43-run stand with Ashleigh Gardner, and maintaining focus as the heat took its toll.

Australia beat heat, spinners to see off Sri Lanka

She was crouched down on her haunches between deliveries and at one point, had teammates bring ice packs and umbrellas out in between overs.

Mooney swapped her helmet for a cap, and there was no break in her concentration as she finished unbeaten on 43 as Australia reached their target with 5.4 overs to spare.

Red-faced as she left the field, it was nothing an ice bath, water and a cold Coke couldn’t fix, and a grinning Mooney was photographed looking much recovered shortly after the end of the match.

"We always knew she was going to (be feeling hot) by the end of that match, and coming out in the hat is pretty courageous," Megan Schutt said after the game.

"That's Moons, she pushes through."

Record-breaking Schutt underlines role for pace

Australia had planned meticulously for their sole afternoon match for the tournament.

Their players had been undergoing heat acclimation protocols since arriving in Mackay on September 25, and Schutt said the preparation had paid off for the group.

Saunas and sweat: How Aussies are tackling brutal UAE heat

"We must have finally acclimatised, because I didn’t feel like I was going to die out there there today," Schutt said.

"But we’ve played in hot conditions before, and we play a summer sport ... so we’ve got to get on with it.

"We were pretty nervous to play at 2pm in terms of the heat, but I think we handled that really well.

"We probably worked ourselves up a little bit more than what it was out there and the breeze was lifesaving ... so I think we've acclimatised nicely and now we move into night games which will be a bit more pleasant."