Mooney a ray of sunshine in Stars defeat

It wasn't the start the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars had hoped for across the Tasman, but there was one major positive to come out of their loss to New Zealand in the first ODI on Saturday.

Called into the Southern Stars playing XI when it became clear Alyssa Healy's strained left hamstring was not match-ready, Beth Mooney starred both with the bat and behind the stumps in the nail-biting nine-run defeat.

Quick single: Stars stumble against red-hot White Ferns

While the batting troubles that contributed to the Southern Stars' three losses to India (one ODI, two T20) last month remained, Mooney slotted into the top of the order like she'd been there all along, scoring 53 before falling victim to leg-spinner Erin Bermingham.

With the gloves she took two catches – the first a routine caught behind to dismiss White Ferns opener Rachel Priest, the second a very sharp grab to put an end to the in-form Sara McGlashan.

Quick single: Healy on the mend from hamstring strain

The 22-year-old is a familiar face in Australian touring parties as a reserve wicketkeeper to Healy – she was part of the 15-player squad that conquered the last World T20 tournament in Bangladesh in 2014 and the group which regained the Women's Ashes on English soil last year – but it wasn't until this year's Rebel Women's Big Bash League that Mooney made an irresistible case for elevation to the playing XI.

She scored 400 runs including three half-centuries for the Brisbane Heat during WBBL|01 and when the Southern Stars strode out on to Adelaide Oval for their first T20 against India, Mooney found herself debuting in the side as a specialist batter.

That series produced knocks of 36, 10 and 34, and while Mooney carried the drinks in the three ODIs against India that followed, she today earned her first international 50-over cap as a result of the strained left hamstring Healy suffered in Hobart earlier this month.

Whether Mooney keeps a place in the XI as a specialist batter when Healy returns – her hamstring is "progressing well" - remains to be seen, however the Queenslander made a very strong case for it at Bay Oval today – even if she personally wasn't satisfied.

"Obviously I got out at a crucial time as well and I acknowledge that," Mooney said after the match.

"It's always nice to score runs and take catches but at the end of the day we're all here with the same goal, so it's a disappointing day for me."

Reflecting on the defeat that left the Southern Stars needing to win the final two one-dayers to hang on to the Rose Bowl, Mooney said rotation of the strike would one topic discussed in their one-day break before their second ODI at the same venue on Monday.

"I thought we did quite well to restrict them to 200," she said.

"We let ourselves down a bit with the bat today which has been a bit of a common theme for us in the last few ODIs and T20s we've played.

"One of the main things that's come up a few times in team meetings has been our rotation of the strike.

"I think when you go out to bat in the middle order it's really important to get off strike, especially when there's a set batter out there and we struggled with that a little bit.

"The run rate started creeping up and we panicked and we lost a few quick wickets and lost a few batters we shouldn't have lost at particular times.

"Hopefully we can move forward as a group."