What inspires people? What makes a cricket fan move? What gets the spectators going? Apart from the fancy hits and the match-winning hat-tricks, the stories of players before their cricketing career attracts attention.
Shakti Gounden, from Around The Wicket, got a chance to sit with one of the openers of the women’s cricket. She opens for Brisbane Heat and the National Australian side in the T20s. The recent world cup was all hers. It’s easy to guess that the guest is Beth Mooney.
As Shakti points out, there was a time when Beth had a total of 10 dollars in her bank account and as the law of life, she had to make the biggest decision of her life in those times. Mooney ended up sacrificing her University studies and devoted herself to cricket. She had a belief in herself and knew that she could make it to the Aussie side if she works hard in the early days.
Now, she sits at the top of ICC rankings and there is no bowler in the world that wants to open her spell facing Mooney bat. Not only was she the player of the tournament in the recent T20 world cup, but she was also in sensational form in the previous edition of the WBBL. Talking about the world cup and the success that her side had, Mooney was quick to point out that her team had shown immense character right from the start.
She recalls losing the inaugural game against India and goes on to reveal that their side was on the back foot since the ground, they thought, would suit the Indian style of play better. Then Aussies were down and out against Sri Lanka at one point after losing three wickets for ten runs. The injuries were a big setback as well. Not only they lost their prime pacer in the name of Tayla Vlaeminck but they had also lost the premium all-rounder Perry before the important matches.
While looking at the achievement of her side and the overall success of the tournament, Mooney hopes that people in Australia would now “get behind” the women’s cricket.
She thinks that the moment after MCG had registered a crowd of nearly 86 thousand, a new era for women’s cricket has started. However, the pandemic, according to her, seems to have affected the momentum. Nonetheless, she appears hopeful for the future of the game as has a great deal of confidence in her side for the coming fixtures.
Mooney is one of the pillars of the Australian batting lineup and her performance will be a vital factor if Australia looks to regain the dominance it has established in women’s cricket.
You can watch the complete interview here:
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