Remember the finals of Women’s Big Bash League last year? How Brisbane Heat defeated Sydney Sixers and won their maiden WBBL title. Beth Mooney played a match-winning knock, she never lost her will to play for the side although as she has revealed, she was feeling dizzy and close to retiring during her gritty player-of-the-match performance in last summer’s blockbuster Rebel WBBL final.
Mooney scored well made 65 runs in 46 balls which helped her side to defeat the two-time winners Sydney sixers in the finals of the last edition. 25-years old Mooney might be a Queenslander but apparently suffers in heat which is ironical but true as while playing against West Indies she was forced to retire after suffering from extreme heat conditions.
Beth Mooney revealed her mind while she played the knock to cricket.com.au saying “I felt pretty ordinary the whole way through the fielding innings, I had my helmet on the whole time I was ‘keeping and every time we got a wicket, I was so grateful because I could have a bit of a spell on my knees and a swig of water.”
Brisbane Heat Bowlers started off really well while restricting the star player Alyssa Healy to 18, helped the side to limit the chasing score to 131.
Mooney says,
“I remember walking off the field and putting my pads on, because we only had 10 minutes and I thought, ‘I’m actually not sure I how I’m going to do this , I just wanted to get in the ice bath, but I didn’t have time. I didn’t think I could (bat) to be honest, I thought – and it’s the cardinal sin of playing cricket – (but) I thought, ‘it’s okay if it’s not my day, someone else will do it’.”
Mooney desperately wanted to win this time keeping in mind the past unfortunate records of Queensland’s defeat to NSW in the 2016-17 50-over Women’s National Cricket League final, as well as their WBBL02 semi-final defeat to the Scorchers. Mooney was on her haunches between balls and asked for ice packs and an inhaler during drinks breaks. During her crucial 84-run stand with captain Kirby Short, despite her determination to win, Mooney did consider the reality she may not be able to continue.
“(But) by that point, I’d started hitting the ball all right and I guess, for the team, you want to get as close as possible. So I just found a way, every time I faced up, to concentrate because in between I was feeling a bit dizzy. I’m not sure how I managed to pull myself out of it when the bowler was running in, but I just needed 10 seconds of concentration every ball and I managed to go all right.”
Mooney was then dismissed by South-African leg spinner Dan Van Niekerk which left the heat to still achieve 30 runs from 31 balls. Mooney was rushed back to an ice bath for recovery while her team continued the innings on the field. “I just remember pulling everything off, I didn’t even make it to the changeroom, I pulled my pads off, pulled my helmet off, basically took all my clothes off and sat in the ice bath for 10 minutes,” Mooney said.
There were a couple of dismissals after Beth Mooney walked back, “There was a bit of panic that we’d lost a couple more wickets after I went out – from me at least – Georgia Prestwidge came in and I kept saying to her, ‘what’s happening? It is close?’”- Says Mooney.
After some time following the match from the dressing she witnessed Delissa Kimmince and Laura Harris seal a famous win with four balls to spare. “My first thought was, ‘what the actual, have we actually won this game out of nowhere? Once we realized it had gone for four, there was this euphoria and sense of achievement.”
Winners’ medal around her neck, Mooney was ready to settle in for some well-earned celebrations with her Heat teammates. given her physical condition – could hardly have come at a worse time. “My celebrations weren’t great,” Mooney laughed. “It was nice to take a moment to take in what we’d done and share it with the people who shared the journey with us”– says Mooney while revealing her feelings through the celebrations.
Sources: Cricket.com.au
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