"I actually asked one of the girls who ran out if she could ask Shell if she wanted to retire me because I was hitting it that bad," Mooney said.
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Beth Mooney was so frustrated at the halfway mark of Australia’s T20 World Cup final victory that she sent a message back to the dressing room requesting coach Shelley Nitschke to retire her. Of course, Kim Garth kept the request to herself, and it never reached Australia’s head coach. Mooney was on 25 from as many deliveries at the time, angry with her team’s 1-73, fearful that they were falling behind in setting South Africa an unattainable goal on a weary Newlands ground.
Luckily, she persisted, ending undefeated on 74 from 53 balls, with her big final-over six off Shabnim Ismail enabling her team to reach 6-156, a total that proved 19 runs too many for the Proteas. “I actually asked one of the girls who ran out if she could ask Shell if she wanted to retire me because I was hitting it that bad,” Mooney said. “But it just goes to show if you hang in there long enough and get the pace of the wicket … I probably didn’t have a great plan through the middle there, I was stepping across and trying to hit it too square, but once I stayed a bit stiller and hit it a bit straighter it wasn’t too bad.”
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Mooney’s match-winning innings extended what has rapidly become a trend for the left-hander of strong innings in important games. She scored an undefeated 78 in the most recent T20 World Cup final in 2020, and 62 in the one-day final in New Zealand last April. Six months later, Australia won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham thanks to a crucial 61-run inning. “There is just this steely determination,” coach Shelley Nitschke said of Mooney. She’s obviously highly skilled but there’s just this real determination and an ability to read the game and today she, by her own admission, probably struggled a little bit early.
“But it was really important for us in the context of the game that she stayed there and went on to make a big score and she was striking really well at the end. I’m not sure if you can teach that but it’s an amazing ability that she’s got to be able to just hang in when the going is tough in tough conditions, and make it up and make winning contributions.” Mooney finished the World Cup with 206 runs from six innings, including three half-centuries, to finish third overall behind Laura Wolvaardt (230) and Natalie Sciver (200). (216). The 29-year-old had begun the competition on a relatively quiet note, with knocks of 0 and 2, but by the end of the tournament, she had developed into one of the most consistent and powerful T20 hitters in the world.
“I think I’ve gotten to a bit of a sweet spot with how I prepare and how comfortable I am with my game,” Mooney said. I’ve got great support around me with the coaching staff and people I work with back home too. I think I just strive off being able to grit and fight and go through those tough innings that don’t feel as good, but perhaps get teams over the line. Hopefully I’ve still got a few years left in me and can score a few more runs but at the moment I’m loving it.”
