BRINGING OUT THE BEST BETH
STAR AUSSIE OPENER GRATEFUL FOR FEEDBACK
BBETH Mooney and Shelley Nitschke aare always talking. Sometimes about tthe books they’re reading. Sometimes aabout their dogs. But mostly about ccricket.
“I’ve always got different ideas insside my head about what I think and dso does she, and she’s not afraid to talk mto me about it,” Mooney said of her ccoach.
Which means that Mooney – the Aussie opener – and Nitschke – the tretired allrounder-turned-coach – are aable to discuss anything.
“Even a couple of weeks ago, it hmust have been after I got my (WBBL) dhundred at the WACA (on November s3), she’d seen something in my backalift and she wasn’t sure whether to talk mto me about it and I said, yes, tell me,” Mooney said.
Nitschke, as the Australian assistaant coach and Perth Scorchers head ccoach, observes a lot of Mooney’s ccricket at all levels.
“Shell’s never afraid to be open and hhonest about what she thinks. And I aabsolutely trust her judgment.
“She probably gets sick of chatting aabout my batting sometimes because I aalways think I’m going worse than I aam, but she reminds me when I’m ggoing well and is not afraid to come aand have a conversation with me whether I’ve made 0 or 100.”
The 27-year-old Aussie batter says Nitschke, who played 122 internationgal games from 2004-2011, is one of a nnumber of mentors and friends – omany of whom she considers family – hwho have helped her develop her igame to its world-beating best.
Australian head coach Matthew Mott is also one of those.
“He’s had a big impact. He believed II was good enough before I probably ddid,” Mooney said. Mooney lists a number of friends away from the pitch – including her former Queensland teammate Kirby Short and her parents Brian and Pauline, as well as the Walker family, as being hugely influential.
“When I spend time with those people away from cricket I just feel like another human and not a cricketer and that’s a really nice change for me as well,” she said.
That off-field balance shows in the stats too: player of the tournament in the 2020 T20 World Cup, leading runscorer in the 2021 WBBL, and her form in September’s India series saw her propelled to the position of the ICC’s No. 1-ranked T20 batter in the world.
And in something of a warning to England, Mooney considers herself a more confident batter than she was in the 2019 Ashes when she finished fourth for most runs across the seven games, with 228 (behind only Alyssa Healy, 266, Meg Lanning, 359, and Ellyse Perry, 378).
“I probably have more confidence playing different shots earlier in my innings than perhaps I did back then, but at the same time, I hope I (have improved) because poor Shelley has thrown about a million balls to me since then,” Mooney said.
For a player that was named 2021’s Leading Woman Cricketer in the World by Wisden this would be a scary thought for England.
Shell’s never afraid to be open and honest. Beth Mooney