BETH TO TURN UP THE HEAT
Bendigo is a long way from Antigua where Australia reclaimed the Women’s WorldT20 crown but it is where star batter Beth Mooney will unwind with family ahead of a hectic summer.
The family reunion in country Victoria, where the Shepparton-born left-hander was raised before her move to Hervey Bay, may be the perfect way for the 24-year-old to reset for the Women’s Big Bash League, where she will chase her fourth straight Most Valuable Player award for the Brisbane Heat. A wicket-keeper by trade and hard-hitting batter, Mooney was disappointed in her statline at the Women’s WorldT20. She scored 151 runs at 21.57, as first-choice keeper Alyssa Healy ran roughshod.
“Alyssa was by far the best (225 runs in five innings, 56.25 avg) but it was a very tough place to bat. She made it look so easy,” Mooney said.
“I was disappointed not to get more runs but I played my role in the team.”
An eight-wicket win against England sealed the silverware for Australia’s fourth Women’s World T20 triumph, in a chase Mooney, who scored 14 in the final, was confident.
“In Twenty20 you never have it won until you hit the target because it can change so quickly, but when I was batting with Midge (Healy) we were already counting down the runs,” Mooney said.
Her lack of big-score production with the bat coupled with her status as the Heat’s three-time MVP has added only more pressure ahead of Brisbane’s WBBL opener against Adelaide Strikers at CitiPower Centre, St Kilda tomorrow.
It is pressure that could help her score her first half-century in more than 10 innings.
“It’s flattering to receive those awards but I probably put more pressure on myself,” Mooney, the 2017-18 Australian female domestic cricketer of the year, said.
“I think we’ll be underdogs but you play to make the finals. It’s important to play good cricket so we’ll need to keep our consistency.