Over the years, the field of sports has seen many comebacks, from Niki Lauda in Formula 1 to Muhammad Ali in Boxing. The sports industry is not new to such heroic comebacks, and on Thursday (January 27) another chapter of great comebacks will be written at Manuka Oval in Canberra as Australia's Beth Mooney is set to take the field in the only Ashes Test. Beth will enter the arena with three metal plates in her face, wire on her bottom teeth and lots of courage in her heart to represent the nation.
"(The medical staff) were pretty adamant to me not long after we got the diagnosis that we could aim for the Test match," Beth told SEN radio.
"We went and got a 3D CT scan of my skull, and there were two clear breaks pretty much straight down my chin, and then where the ball hit the side of my face, there was another clear break down the side there.
"I've got two plates in my chin and one near my ear and a few screws.
"I don't think you can speed up a broken bone, it's going to be broken for five more weeks, but it's certainly a lot more comfortable now than it was a week or so ago," the Australian opener further explained.
A T20 sensation, Beth was injured in the nets in the build up to the series where coach Matthew Mott was working on throwdowns. She was hit on the chin, which was followed by surgery. But, the gutsy Australian is all set to return to the field just nine days after going under the knife. She has only been ordered to eat liquid food as her jaws don't allow her to chew properly.
The phoenix rise has seen the 28-year-old keep her aspirations alive to just not clinch the Ashes glory but to even have a crack at the Women's World Cup which starts in the first week of March. She was full of admiration for the medical staff and has thanked them for the same.
Beth can still contribute significantly to the Australian Women's team as she will have a three-match ODI series in front of her. She was even taunted by her doctors that, she could have been available for last week's T20I series as well.
"(Team doctor) Pip and I looked at each other and said 'why don't we just aim for the Test match,” Beth concluded by suggesting she was only focused on the Test match against England.
