Mooney's memorable 109 earns Australia a big victory over Pakistan at Women’s Cricket World Cup

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Beth Mooney hit one of the most memorable centuries ever in women's one-day cricket as defending champion Australia overcame a top-order collapse and thumped Pakistan by 107 runs at the Women’s Cricket World Cup on Wednesday.

Mooney made a masterful 109 off 114 balls to raise her first World Cup hundred after Australia had wobbled to 76-7 against Pakistan's spin trio of Nashra Sandhu, Rameen Shamim and Sadiq Iqbal.

Tailender Alana King upped the scoring rate late with an unbeaten 51 off 49 balls as she combined with Mooney in a 106-run stand, the highest-ever ninth-wicket partnership in women’s ODIs. Australia eventually finished at a challenging 221-9.

The pace bowling pair of Kim Garth (3-14) and Megan Schutt (2-25) snapped five wickets inside the power play and Pakistan was eventually dismissed for 114 — its third straight loss.

“I was thinking over 200 (team total), we’ve got to win this game,” Mooney said when asked about her approach to the innings. “I’m not here for the hundred, I’m here for the win.”

Australia, which beat New Zealand before its game against Sri Lanka was washed out last Saturday in Colombo, leads the standings with five points.

Pakistan's batting woes continued as its top-order struggled against pace and spin. Sidra Amin, who scored half century against archrival India, top-scored with 35 off 52 balls but Australia kept striking through. Amin was the only top-order Pakistan batter to reach double figures.

The Australian top-order capitulated against three Pakistan spinners, who picked up 6-98 off their combined 30 overs, after skipper Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to field.

Left-armer Iqbal found the turn from the word go once Sana introduced the spinners in the fifth over. Australia captain Alyssa Healy (20) struck three boundaries but flicked Iqbal straight to midwicket in Sana's second over. Sana followed it up by taking a well judged return catch to dismiss Phoebe Litchfield.

Sandhu deceived premier batter Ellyse Perry (5) and had her stumped, and then slipped a delivery between the bat and pad of Annabel Sutherland to hit the stumps as Australia slid to 59-4 in the 15th over.

Off-spinner Shamim, who didn’t concede a boundary in her 10 overs, continued to squeeze Australia when Ashleigh Gardner chipped an easy catch to midwicket. Diana Baig took a smart diving catch of Tahila McGrath to leave Australia in all sorts of trouble at 75-6.

Australia was 115-8 in the 34th over and was in danger of getting bowled out for its lowest ODI total against Pakistan, but Mooney and King stood tall.

Mooney, who hit 11 fours, and King rotated strike frequently and waited patiently to see off the threat of Pakistan spinners before cutting loose against the pace bowlers.

Mooney successfully overturned an lbw decision against her off Iqbal when she was on 85 before completing her well composed century off 110 balls. King completed her half century with two successive sixes against Sana in the last over, which went for 21 runs.

Mooney finally got out of Sana’s final ball of Australia’s innings when she was caught in the covers.

India, which won both its games against Asian rivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka, takes on South Africa at Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's Beth Mooney, right, celebrates her century with Alana King during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct, 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Beth Mooney, left, and Alana King run between the wickets to score during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct, 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Beth Mooney, right, celebrates her as Alana King watches during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct, 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Pakistan's Nashra Sundhu celebrates the wicket of Australia's Tahlia McGrath during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct, 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Beth Mooney, right, celebrates her as Alana King watches during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct, 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Beth Mooney plays a shot during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and Pakistan at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Oct, 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

MIAMI (AP) — It has been nearly three decades since a Democrat held the mayor’s office in Miami, a span of futility the party is hoping to reverse during a special runoff election this week in one of the last electoral showdowns before next year’s midterms.

While it is a local race, this election has become the latest test of the nation’s political mood nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s second term.

Trump and other big-name Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott, have weighed in for the conservative candidate, former city manager Emilio Gonzalez, in the otherwise nonpartisan race. Nationally known Democrats, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have offered support on behalf of Eileen Higgins, a Democrat who served on the county commission before winning a runoff spot last month.

An upset for the Democrats on Tuesday would give the party an additional burst of momentum heading into a crucial election year when control of Congress will be at stake, especially in a region that has become increasingly friendly turf for Republicans and where Trump plans to build his presidential library.

Higgins, who lives in the Cuban enclave of Little Havana and had represented a district that leans conservative, proudly wears the label of “La Gringa,” a term Spanish speakers use for white Americans. A Spanish speaker herself, Higgins has focused her campaign relentlessly on local issues such as the cost of housing while capitalizing on national ones, including the treatment of immigrants under the Trump administration in a city with sizable Hispanic and foreign-born populations.

“I have been a Democrat serving in a primarily Republican district, and all I have done is work for the people,” she told The Associated Press.

Miami is Florida’s second most populous city, behind Jacksonville, but is the epicenter of the state’s diverse culture and is among the nation’s most prominent international destinations, giving its mayor an outsize platform.

The city of 487,000 is part of Miami-Dade County, which Trump flipped last year, handily defeating Democrat Kamala Harris after losing the county to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. A loss for Gonzalez would be perceived in Florida as a setback for the GOP and Trump.

Christian Ulvert, Higgins’ campaign manager, said early returns of mail ballots are encouraging. About 44% had been cast by registered Democrats as of Thursday, a day before early in-person voting began, compared with about 30% by registered Republicans.

“What you’re seeing is great Democratic enthusiasm and turnout that matches that enthusiasm,” he said.

Higgins, who would be the first non-Hispanic mayor of Miami in almost 30 years if elected, said she is confident she will receive support not only from Democrats, but also from unaffiliated voters and some Republicans because of her work as an elected official.

Her pitch to voters includes finding city-owned land that could be turned into affordable housing and cutting unnecessary spending. She was asked during a recent forum sponsored by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce if she would try to turn the more ceremonial role of mayor into a full-time job and not take on other work, something that raised ethical concerns for the current mayor, term-limited Francis Suarez.

“I do not have outside employment now. I was a full-time commissioner. I’m going to be a full-time mayor,” Higgins said as the interviewer continued to press her about whether that meant not accepting any outside employment.

In a blunt-talking style, Higgins responded sternly: “All right, do I have to say it more clearly? No! It’s a full-time job.”

While Latino voters nationally have traditionally leaned Democratic, Republicans in Florida have found strong backing among Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan immigrants, who resist socialist inclinations likened to the ones from the governments they fled. Trump tapped into those sentiments in winning Miami-Dade County last year, a turnaround from his 30 percentage point loss there to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Yet some Florida Republicans began sounding the alarm after November’s elections, when Democrats secured wins in nationally watched governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia. Both winning candidates had strong performances with nonwhite voters, and the Democratic winner in the New Jersey race received two-thirds of the Hispanic vote, according to the AP Voter Poll.

Those results were largely seen as a reflection of concerns over rising prices and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.

U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican whose district includes the city of Miami, called the elections elsewhere a “wake-up call.” Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator who in 2016 founded the group Latinas for Trump, has said about immigration arrests that “what we are witnessing is inhumane.”

Gonzalez, a former director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Republican President George W. Bush, said during a debate sponsored by Miami's CBS affiliate that he supported immigration arrests against those who committed crimes. But he demurred when the moderator said most of those arrested had not committed violent offenses: “But this is a federal issue," Gonzalez said. "This is not an issue that has to do with the mayor of Miami.”

Higgins has spoken about Miami’s signing on to a federal program that delegates immigration authority to local police, county sheriffs and state agencies and said she would find legal options to unwind that decision to rebuild trust between residents and law enforcement.

“When we start to enforce whatever shenanigans is coming out of the federal government to just randomly pick people up, we could erode that trust,” she said.

Higgins has received support from Florida Democrats looking to show the party still has a foothold in the formerly swing state.

Some Democrats who could be considering a presidential run in 2028 also are backing her campaign. Buttigieg encouraged voters in a video to make a plan to vote for her, and U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona planned to join her on Sunday for early voting stops.

Many of the local issues at play in the race resonate nationally, including income inequality and one of the nation’s least affordable housing markets.

Gustavo Ascani, a 30-year-old Miami voter, said the city has long-standing problems that need addressing. He said he has not decided whom he will vote for, but said tackling homelessness and traffic is a priority for him.

“Maybe Republicans have overlooked, after having locally been in power for so long, certain issues that are important for the people in Miami,” Ascani said.

Robin Peguero, a former prosecutor who is running for the chance to challenge Salazar for her congressional seat, said voters’ concerns center around affordability, an issue that has become a focal point of both parties after Democrats' wins in New Jersey and Virginia.

That includes the sharp health insurance premium spikes expected to start Jan. 1 after subsidies under the Affordable Care Act expire. The Obama-era health law remains popular in South Florida, and recent polling shows most people who will be affected by the increases blame Trump and Republicans.

“It’s kitchen table issues, whether it’s an election for local officials or whether there is an election for the president,” Peguero said. “It’s a rejection of what is happening in this country.”

Gustavo Ascani, a digital content creator, speaks about the upcoming Miami mayor runoff election, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner and candidate for Miami mayor Eileen Higgins, speaks at a Miami Chamber of Commerce event Thursday, Dec. 4, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

FILE - Florida Gov. Rick Scott, right, laughs with Emilio Gonzalez, director and chief executive officer of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, center, and Jose "Pepe" Diaz, Miami-Dade County commissioner, left, after a news conference at Miami International Airport, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner and candidate for Miami mayor Eileen Higgins, speaks at a Miami Chamber of Commerce event Thursday, Dec. 4, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)