Australian star Beth Mooney opens up on insane 215 heart rate, heatstroke fears at T20 World Cup

The sight of Beth Mooney hunched over with an ice pack atop her head is not uncommon in the Australian team. But what’s more mysterious is why her heartrate rockets to 215 in the first place.

During the Test match against South Africa earlier this year, Australian seamer Megan Schutt joked in a Channel Seven interview that the Aussies would do everything in their power to stop teammate Beth Mooney “becoming a tomato too quickly” on a blazing Perth day.

And the star opener generated plenty of meme potential during her innings against Sri Lanka earlier in the Twenty20 World Cup when hunched over with an ice pack atop her head, afforded shade by the trusty umbrella of drinks carrier Alana King to escape the Sharjah heat.

But while teammates and fans may see the funny side to it, heatstroke is a serious issue for Mooney.

The Sharjah episode was just the latest in what has become a suite of such tales for Mooney, whose face becomes overly rosy when the mercury rises.

Beth Mooney cools down during a match against Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament. Picture: Getty

It is a suboptimal situation for someone whose living is earned spending hours in peak summer sun, and Mooney can’t quite figure out why she is predisposed to cook so acutely.

“We’re not really too sure. There’s a few jokes that my thermostat in my body is a bit broken,” Mooney told this masthead.

“Part of it probably is my heart rate gets up pretty quick to over 200 when it’s hot.

“I can’t really get it back down unless I sort of stop and try and cool my body down and that’s just really hard when you’re just constantly on the go and have long sleeve shirts and pants and helmets and whatnot on.

“So I don’t have any answers. It’s just unfortunate part of my genetic makeup.

Beth Mooney remains a vital in the Australian T20 machine. Picture: Getty

“I think that means that it just impacts me a little bit more than everyone else, but certainly got the right people around me to help navigate that in SSSM (sports science and sports medicine) team and they’ve been doing a great job over here with making sure that everyone’s got enough ice towels and slushies and cooling methods to help them get through the game.”

So just how high does Mooney’s heart rate skyrocket in oppressive conditions?

“Sometimes it gets to 210, 215 so it’s probably not ideal. think it just feels a bit suffocating and you can’t get enough air in. It’s just a mix of a few different things and bit of discomfort as well. So thankfully, the semi (final of the T20 World Cup v South Africa) is a night game.”

Mooney has been thrust back into the role of wicketkeeper mid-tournament following a foot injury to captain and longtime opening partner Alyssa Healy.

Alyssa Healy’s injury has handed the wicketkeeping duties to Mooney.

While Mooney has done plenty of wicketkeeping in the past, returning to the duties in the game against India was a jolt, especially given the Aussies had been seeking to train less than usual during their time in the UAE to escape the weather.

“(I was) pretty stressed? But we’ve got some good coaches here that helped me out servicing what I need to be prepared. So the last couple of days, I’ll have done some keeping in training. So hopefully that’ll help going into the semi final, if I’m required.

“I do thoroughly enjoy it and enjoy the training aspect of it. I think sometimes the wicketkeeping role can be a bit of a thankless job, and people are quite hard on us, so I don’t enjoy that side of it, but I think Midge (Healy) has done a pretty outstanding job. So they’re big shoes to fill, but hopefully I can have an impact if needed.”

Originally published as Australian star Beth Mooney opens up on insane 215 heart rate, heatstroke fears at T20 World Cup