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Alyssa Healy runs out Beth Mooney in The Hundred, sparking Northern Superchargers’ win over London Spirit

Alyssa Healy runs out Beth Mooney in The Hundred, sparking Northern Superchargers' win over London Spirit

Alyssa Healy has delivered a bit of brilliance in the field to run out Australian international teammate Beth Mooney and help inspire her Northern Superchargers side to their first victory in this year’s Women’s Hundred in England.

Healy’s airborne dismissal of Mooney, who scored 97 not out in the London Spirit’s opener to the 100-ball-a-side competition, proved the turning point in the Superchargers’ five-run win at Headingley.

Spirit’s pursuit of 4-127 was going along smoothly enough at 1-54 with Mooney still looking in control when she had a mix-up in running with second-wicket partner Amelia Kerr.

Turning for the second run, Mooney was in trouble, but the throw from mid-wicket from Beth Langston looked to have reprieved her because it was wide and high to wicketkeeper Healy.

But the Australian World Cup star leapt high to her left and not only collected it but managed to flick an underarm throw that hit the stumps and left her international opening partner stranded, out for a threatening 30 off 20 balls.

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From that point, the run chase was always in trouble, especially when Danielle Gibson top-edged Alice Davidson-Richards to fine leg next ball.

Spirit ended up needing 13 off the final series of five and despite an excellent effort from Sophie Luff, the visitors fell five runs short.

Earlier, Bess Heath had been key for the Superchargers, with a blistering 57 off 34 deliveries featuring 10 boundaries digging her side out of trouble.

Healy had also played her part with the bat, smashing 22 off 16 including one huge six over long-on before she perished, seriously annoyed with herself, after plonking a juicy full-toss off Kerr straight into Alice Monaghan’s hands on the boundary.

Maxwell stars with bat and ball

In the men’s tournament, Glenn Maxwell shone with bat and ball to help London Spirit maintain their perfect record in The Hundred.

Englishman Adam Rossington took center stage with the competition’s fastest 50, smashed off just 15 balls, as Spirit made mincemeat of their 144-run target against the Superchargers at Headingley.

But Australian star Maxwell was similarly pivotal in wrapping up the seven-wicket win with 18 balls to spare, as the Lord’s franchise almost certainly earned a place in the knockout stages already by winning their fourth straight match.

The Victorian cracked an unbeaten 43 off just 25 balls to steer them home after earlier granting just six runs and taking a key wicket off 15 balls in a spell that helped strangle the Superchargers.

AAP

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Beth Mooney sets new record in women’s Hundred, but falls agonizingly short of competition’s first ever century

Beth Mooney completes a shot off her pads to the on side

Beth Mooney has hit the highest-ever score in the women’s Hundred but was left a tantalizing three runs short of a century.

The Australian batter also ended on the losing side as her London Spirit team lost by six wickets to last year’s runners-up Southern Brave.

At one stage, Mooney looked like she would score the first century in the competition, which has just embarked on its second year, but needing to hit the last ball of the innings for six she managed only two.

The left-hander’s shot placement in front of a crowd of about 9,000 at Hampshire’s Ageas Bowl was superb, toying with the field as she stroked 16 fours and a six.

“Credit to Beth Mooney, she was outstanding. As a captain and bowler she makes you feel like you haven’t got a clue about where to put your fielders,” Southern Brave captain Anya Shrubsole said.

Mooney’s unbeaten 97 off 55 balls was the mainstay of Spirit’s 4-155 off their 100 balls with only New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr (37 off 27) also reaching double figures.

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Australia beats India by nine runs at Edgbaston to win Commonwealth Games women’s T20 cricket gold

Australia's women's cricket team crowd together to hug and cheer and punch the air after clinching gold.

The Australian women’s cricket team now officially has it all.

The T20 and ODI World Cup winners are Commonwealth Games champions too after a nine-run win over India in front of a bumper crowd at Edgbaston.

When we talk about greatness in Australian team sports, surely now they must be counted amongst the very best we’ve ever seen.

“It was certainly a medal that we never thought we’d ever win, we never thought we’d be a part of a Commonwealth Games,” Australia all-rounder Ash Gardner said.

“We’ve won a lot of medals, but I think this one’s pretty special.”

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The Australians batted first and made 8-161, largely thanks to Beth Mooney’s 61 off 41 balls.

As she so often does, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur took control to put India in a dangerous position before Gardner dismissed her for 65.

“I thought they had control that chase for a long period of that batting innings of theirs,” Mooney said.

“But on the flip side, I thought that if we got a couple of wickets that we were in with a real shot of turning the screws and putting the squeeze on them, which is what happened.”

India needed 11 runs off the final over, with two wickets left.

But Jess Jonassen delivered the goods with the ball as the Australians claimed another major title.

A strange sideshow played out during the game.

On the morning of the match Australia all-rounder Tahlia McGrath tested positive to COVID-19, but she was still allowed to play.

Tahlia McGrath
Tahlia McGrath motions for her teammates to stay away after taking a catch. McGrath tested positive for COVID before the match started.(Getty Images: Ryan Pierce)

In bizarre scenes, McGrath had to socially distance from her teammates when she took a catch – never mind that they were all touching the same ball.

And all the COVID safe protocols were forgotten when she was swept up by her teammates in the festivities at the end of the match.

“It’d be pretty upsetting for someone like Tahlia who’s been in this team not being able to hug her teammates when we’ve won a gold medal,” Mooney said.

“So hopefully they turn a blind eye to that and forget that happened.”

Megan Schutt said the team felt bad for McGrath.

“It was so weird. We didn’t want to get in trouble,” Schutt told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“We felt bad for Tahlia at the end there.

“At the end, screw it. If we get COVID, so be it.”

Hockeyroos win silver after defeat to England

A group of Australian women's hockey players smile up at the camera as they take a selfie with their silver medals.
The Hockeyroos finished with silver in Birmingham, just like they did four years ago on the Gold Coast.(Getty Images: Mark Kolbe)

The Hockeyroos were outmuscled by England in the women’s hockey gold medal match at Edgbaston Hockey Club, with the home side deservedly winning 2-1.

The Hockeyroos lacked fluency and the killer instinct in the circle, while England was boosted by a buoyant home crowd to win gold for the first time.

But instead of slumping to the ground in tears, or comforting each other, for the most part, the Australians kept a smile on their face, patted each other on the back, and tried to appreciate what they’d managed to achieve.

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Several weeks after winning a bronze medal at the World Cup, the Hockeyroos wanted to make sure they celebrated winning silver.

Coach Katrina Powell — a two-time Olympic gold medalist — gathered all players and support staff in a huddle on the pitch, and passionately spoke to the team.

“[I told them] how proud I am of them and how we progressed while we’ve been away and how hard it is,” Powell said.

“Also [I gave them] a little reminder that you do win silver, hockey competitions are really interesting that [people think] you lose gold.

“We just won a bronze, so we saw how much happier we were than the silver medalists at the World Cup.

“And I think you miss out on that fun, that excitement, that experience, if you’re not happy with winning silver.”

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Commonwealth Games 2022: Tahlia McGrath masterclass steers Australia to victory over Pakistan, cricket news

Commonwealth Games 2022: Tahlia McGrath masterclass steers Australia to victory over Pakistan, cricket news

Tahlia McGrath just can’t be stopped.

The Australian put together another superb all-round performance in Wednesday’s Commonwealth Games match against Pakistan in Birmingham, extending her golden run in the T20 format.

McGrath top-scored with an unbeaten 78 (51) before claiming three wickets to help the Aussies secure a convincing 44-run victory at Edgbaston.

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The 26-year-old smacked 10 boundaries and a six over fine leg in the penultimate over, combining with opener Beth Mooney for an unbeaten 141-run stand as Australia registered a team total of 2/160.

It ranks as the largest third-wicket partnership for Australia in women’s T20Is.

McGrath later collected career-best figures of 3/13 from three overs with the ball, finding herself on a hat-trick in the 17th over after removing Bismah Maroof and Tuba Hassan in consecutive deliveries.

The South Australian’s career stats are nothing short of absurd – since making her T20I debut in October last year, McGrath has scored 339 runs at 169.50.

Her strike rate of 156.22 is arguably even more impressive.

McGrath has only been dismissed for less than 70 eleven in 12 T20 internationals; during last week’s thrilling victory over India.

“When I got out the first time, I did joke that I was going to retire and keep that average for the rest of my career,” McGrath told reporters after the win.

“I’m quite enjoying the T20 format, I just get to go out there, play with a bit of freedom, play my shots and I know that if it doesn’t come off, I’ve got that many explosive batters coming in behind me

“(My form) is a big surprise and I’m still pinching myself. But I just love playing in the Australian shirt and I love every moment I get to do it.

“So at the moment, it’s nice that I’m contributing to some team success and I’m just riding the wave and enjoying my cricket because it’s been a lot of fun.”

McGrath’s bowling has been equally as damaging in the T20 format, taking 10 wickets at 11.00 with a strike rate of 10.2.

She joins Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez on an illustrious list of cricketers to score 70+ runs and take 3+ wickets in a T20I more than eleven.

McGrath has essentially made herself undroppable, pushing superstar all-rounder Ellyse Perry out of the national T20 line-up.

“She just seems really clear on her role in our team, and also has got some great clarity on her own process within her own game,” Mooney said.

“She just comes out and takes the pressure off the other batter out there, which was me today, which I was really grateful for.

“She’s just really clear on her own game plan and she comes out with that confidence when she first walks out there, too, so that helps as well.”

Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy and skipper Meg Lanning were cheaply dismissed in the Powerplay, each returning to the sheds for 4.

Healy’s form with the bat in the game’s shortest format may be cause for concern – since the start of 2021, she has averaged 8.77 with the bat in T20 internationals.

Aussie seamers Megan Schutt and Darcie Brown each snared early breakthroughs in the Powerplay before McGrath combined with spinners Jess Jonassen and Alana King to roll through Pakistan’s middle order.

Lanning’s side, who were undefeated in the group stage and remain red-hot favorites to win the coveted gold medal, will next face either England or New Zealand in the semi-finals on Saturday.

“Pressure is a bit of a privilege in my eyes,” Mooney said.

“There’s certainly no amount of pressure that’s more than what we put on ourselves to perform day in and day out.

“The challenge that awaits us is really exciting. Semi-finals are sometimes harder than finals. You have to be on your game from ball one.

“You want a spot in that gold medal match. We know on our best day we can beat anyone.”

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