Beth Mooney does milestones the same way she chases targets – quietly, without fuss. On Tuesday in Brisbane the left-hander became only the fourth Australian woman to reach 7,000 international runs, guiding a straightforward six-wicket win over India with 76 from 79 balls. The multi-format contest is now locked at two victories each, with two ODIs in Hobart and a Test in Perth still to come.
The landmark slipped under Mooney’s radar until the end.
“I didn’t know that came up tonight but certainly when I first started playing with this team I didn’t think I’d be on too many lists alongside those three players,” she admitted, referring to Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy. “It is probably a testament to being around for a long time but also the opportunities that have been presented to me. I am very grateful and lucky that the coaching staff I’ve had throughout my career, and the selectors I’ve had, have shown a lot of faith and trust in me. Hopefully that is not the end and I have plenty more in me.”
A textbook start gave way to acceleration: two straight sixes lifted her strike-rate from 70 to near run-a-ball, and a 64-run stand with Healy (50 from 70) put the result beyond doubt. Healy is set to retire after this series, so time in the middle together now carries extra weight.
“It has been a real privilege to play alongside Midge [Healy] and obviously spend a fair bit of time out in the middle with her,” Mooney said. “We have had some pretty amazing partnerships along the way. Tonight’s was much-needed after back-to-back wickets.” She added: “To see the way she adapts and changes her style of play based on the conditions and the situation in front of her has been class throughout her career. To share a partnership with her was cool and hopefully we’ve got a few more in us by the end of the series.”
Australia were 154 for two after 30 overs and, by Mooney’s reckoning, “on track for 300” before a small wobble. Even so, they finished the chase with 11.4 overs unused – evidence, she said, of a batting unit willing to keep pushing.
“That’s where we want to be as a batting group, where we are adapting to conditions but also taking the game on where we can,” she noted. “The conditions in Hobart will be different so it will be nice to get down there and have a couple of ODIs on a pretty good batting wicket.” She concluded: “To level out the series has been really good for us and hopefully we can win the next two as well leading into the Test,”
Equal credit went to the bowlers for containing India to 214 after Alyssa Healy chose to field. Megan Schutt, summoned early on Tuesday after Kim Garth strained a quad, landed a wicket in her first over and returned figures of 1-34 from eight – tidy work after a dawn flight and no involvement in the preceding T20Is.
Analytically, Australia’s template stayed familiar: a disciplined new-ball burst, spin to compress the middle overs, then well-timed acceleration with the bat. India, hampered by a sluggish outfield and a couple of soft dismissals, will feel they left at least 30 runs on the park. Still, the series remains alive, and the move to Hobart’s faster surface could narrow the gap.
Mooney, 32 next month, shows no sign of slowing down. Whether digging in or clearing the rope, her game still revolves around placement, calmness and a reading of angles that rarely deserts her. The 7,000-run mark matters – but only, you sense, because there are more to come.
