Beth Mooney

Some Lesser Known Facts About Beth Mooney

• Beth Mooney is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Southern Stars (Australia women’s national cricket team). In March 2020, she went on to become the world’s number-one batter in WT20I cricket by the end of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.

• Mooney was athletic since childhood and she spent her childhood playing multiple sports including soccer, tennis, and Australian rules football.

• Shortly before her eighth birthday, she began her cricketing journey when she filled in for her brother in the Kialla Lakes Cricket Club’s team. She recalled the same in an interview and said,I always played cricket in the backyard with my family and one day my brother (Tom’s) team was short of a player and Dad said, ‘Why don’t you give Beth a go. I didn’t hesitate. I loved being outside. None of the boys complained, although I ran fine leg to fine leg, which is where you put your worst player. I played cricket from then on. That is how it all started.”
• Thereafter, she became a regular at the club.

• Mooney and her family relocated to Hervey Bay in Queensland from Shepparton when she was 10.

• Growing up in Hervey Bay, she would ride a bike along the Esplanade early in the mornings before school along with her father and go sea kayaking with her dog Jasper.

• In Queensland, Mooney did not start playing cricket until a year after her move. At that year’s Hervey Bay Zone trials, she was identified as the best catcher in her team at Hervey Bay Zone trials and was advised by coach Richard Dugdale to try wicket-keeping.

• She was then selected as a wicket-keeper for the Queensland Primary School girls’ team. Later, she progressed through higher-level junior Queensland girls’ teams.

• She played for Hervey Bay’s boys’ Cavaliers from the age of 11 to 18.

• Mooney was 16 when she made her debut for Queensland Fire in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) in 2010.

• Mooney was named to the Australian squad for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh that won the title.

• Mooney started playing for Brisbane Heat for the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL|01) in 2015. She played for Heat in WBBL|02, WBBL|03, WBBL|04, and WBBL|05. She won the title of Player of the Series during WBBL|02. Her efforts led the Heat to win its maiden WBBL title during the 2018–19 season (WBBL|04) when Heat defeated Sydney Sixers by three wickets.

  

• In the 2019-20 season of WBBL (WBBL|05),  she led Heat to win its second title when her side defeated Adelaide Strikers by 6 wickets in the final; she was named Player of the Match. During WBBL|05, she became the first player to score 400 runs in five consecutive WBBL seasons. During the season, Mooney became the first player to surpass the score of 3000 runs in the WBBL on 21 November 2020.

• She stood in as acting captain of Perth Scorchers for two games, replacing Sophie Devine due to Devine’s back injury. Mooney’s efforts led Perth Scorchers to win the title of WBBL|07 in which she was the leading run-scorer with 547 runs.

• On 26 February 2017, she scored her maiden WODI century against New Zealand during the 2016–17 Rose Bowl series at Eden Park, Auckland.

• She hit her maiden WT20I century in 2017 when she scored 117 runs against England.

• She was a part of Australia’s 15-member squad for the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup in England and 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.

• She received a contract from Cricket Australia ahead of the 2019–20 season.

• She hit her second WT20I century in 2019 when she scored 113 runs against Sri Lanka.

• She was named to the Australian squad for the 2020 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Australia won the tournament beating India by 85 runs. Mooney helped Australia win its fifth title scoring an unbeaten 78 off 54 balls. She was the leading run scorer with 259 runs and was named the Player of the Series. During a match against Bangladesh, Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney made the highest partnership for Australia Women, 151 runs, for any wicket in WT20Is.

• She became the number-one T20I batter in the world scoring 259 runs in six innings at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, the most in a single edition

• She retained the Australian central contract in 2021.

• She hit her second international century in WODI in 2021 when she scored 125 against India.

• She was named to the Australian squad for the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. In the tournament, Australia beat England by 71 runs. She helped Australia win its seventh World Cup hitting a half-century in the final of the tournament.

• She was a part of the Australian squad that won the cricket tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. In the tournament, Mooney emerged as the leading run-scorer with 179 runs. In the final against India, she scored 61 off 41 and was named Player of the Match in which Australia won by 9 runs.

  

• In 2023, Beth Mooney was bought by the franchise team Gujarat Giants for 2 crore rupees in the inaugural season of the WPL. Thereafter, she became the captain of the team, but she suffered a calf injury in the tournament opener against the Mumbai Indians following which she was ruled out for the remaining matches of the season. Consequently, South African batter Laura Wolvaardt replaced her and the captaincy was passed to Sneh Rana.

• She is a dog lover and has a pet named Ruby.

• She suffered from a jaw fracture in 2022 during a practice session when the Australian coach Matthew Mott delivered a ball. Thereafter, she had to undergo surgery.

• She occasionally consumes alcoholic beverages.