Bethany Louise Mooney (born 14 January 1994) is an Australian professional

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who plays for the national cricket team as a batter in all three formats of the game. At the domestic level, she plays as a

wicket-keeper-batter In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a catch, stump the batsman out, or run out a batsman when occasion arises. The wicket-ke ...

for

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers are an Australian men's professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Big Bash League. The Scorchers wear an orange uniform and are based in Perth in the Australian state of Western Australia. Their home gr ...

in WBBL and for Gujarat Giant in WPL. In March 2020, at the conclusion of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020, she became the world's number one batter in

Women's Twenty20 International Women's Twenty20 international (WT20I) is the shortest form of women's international cricket. A women's Twenty20 international is a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between two of the International Cricket Council (ICC) members. The very firs ...

(WT20I) cricket.

Early life and career

Mooney was born in

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. She has a brother, Tom, and a sister, Gabrielle. As a child, she played many sports, ranging from

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

. Shortly before her eighth birthday, she was invited to fill-in for her brother's cricket team; that invitation turned into her making regular appearances for Kialla Lakes Cricket Club. When Mooney was 10 years old, she and her family moved to

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...

, Queensland, where she attended Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School and Xavier Catholic College. Early in the mornings before school in Hervey Bay, she and her father would go riding their bikes along the Esplanade, and

sea kayak A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak used for the sport of Watercraft paddling, paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and oceans. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They t ...

ing with their dog. Mooney did not start playing cricket in Queensland until a year after her move. At that year's Hervey Bay Zone trials, she was identified as the best catcher in her team, and was advised by the team's coach to try wicket-keeping. She was then selected as a wicket-keeper for the Queensland Primary School girls team, and later progressed through higher level junior Queensland girls teams. Meanwhile, she played for Hervey Bay's boys' Cavaliers team until she was 18 years old, as there were no girls cricket teams in rural areas. By the time she was about 13, Mooney was already being tipped to play cricket for Australia. She also made really good friends in cricket, and that kept her in the game, as did her enjoyment of travelling to Brisbane and national competitions, and missing school for a few days to play. Additionally, she felt that interstate girls cricket was a step up from the men's cricket she was playing in Hervey Bay. Upon leaving school, Mooney started a teaching degree. However, she quit her studies in 2014 to focus on cricket, after realising that she would have only one chance to make it in the game.

Domestic career

Australia

Mooney made her debut for the

Queensland Fire The Queensland women's cricket team, also known as the Konica Minolta Queensland Fire, is the women's representative cricket team for the Australian State of Queensland. They play most of their home games at Allan Border Field, Brisbane and the ...

in the

Women's National Cricket League The Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) is the national domestic 50-over competition for women's cricket in Australia. Featuring seven teams—one from every state, plus the Australian Capital Territory—each season's winner is awarded th ...

four days after her 16th birthday in 2010. Currently, she plays as a wicket-keeper/batter for

and

. In November 2018, Mooney was named in

Brisbane Heat The Brisbane Heat are an Australian professional franchise men's and women's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). The Heat are the successors of the Queensland Bulls who playe ...

's squad for the

2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season The 2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season or WBBL, 04 was the fourth season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the semi-professional women's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament ran from 1 December 2018 to ...

(WBBL, 04). During the final of the WBBL, 04 tournament, held on a sweltering

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

2019, she overcame a dizziness-inducing illness to score a

player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

-winning 65 runs from 46 balls. (However, the opposition

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

Alyssa Healy Alyssa Jean Healy (born 24 March 1990) is an Australian cricketer who plays for and captains the Australian women's national team. She also plays for New South Wales in domestic cricket, as well as the Sydney Sixers in the WBBL and captains ...

appeared to

sledge A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...

Mooney during her innings, saying on the player mic, "It's actually not that hot out here") Her innings inspired the Heat to its maiden Women's Big Bash title, with a three-wicket victory over the heavily favoured

Sydney Sixers The Sydney Sixers is an Australian professional franchise men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the Spee ...

. On 21 November 2020, Mooney became the first player to score 3000 runs in the

Women's Big Bash League The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) also known as Weber WBBL for sponsorship reasons, is the Australian professional Women's Twenty20 Cricket league. The WBBL replaced the Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup, which ran from the 2007–08 season ...

competition.

England

In April 2022, Mooney was bought by the

London Spirit London Spirit are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in North London. The team represents the historic counties of Middlesex, Essex and Northamptonshire in The Hundred, which took place for the first time during the 2021 English and Welsh ...

for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.

India

In the inaugural season of the Indian Women's Premier League in 2023, Beth Mooney was bought by Gujarat Giants (GG) at the price of 2

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

rupees (approximately US$240,000 at the time). She was subsequently named captain of the side. However, she suffered a calf injury in the tournament opener against the

Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indians were founded in 2008 and are owned by India's largest Conglomerate (company), co ...

, and was ruled out of the remainder of the season. South African batter

Laura Wolvaardt Laura Wolvaardt (born 26 April 1999) is a South African cricketer who currently plays for Western Province, Adelaide Strikers, Gujarat Giants, Manchester Originals and South Africa. She plays as a right-handed opening batter. She has previo ...

replaced her in the side, while the captaincy passed to Sneh Rana. Mooney returned to captain the side in the 2024 edition. Although GG suffered a second consecutive bottom place finish, Mooney's own form was one of the few bright spots for the team, with 285 runs in 8 innings at a strike rate of 141.08 which included three consecutive half-centuries. Her unbeaten 85(51) helped GG register the season's highest total of 199/5 in a victory against eventual champions

Royal Challengers Bangalore The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 ...

. Prior to the 2025 Edition, all-rounder

Ashleigh Gardner Ashleigh Katherine Gardner (born 15 April 1997) is an Australian cricketer who currently plays for the national women's team as an all-rounder. A right-handed batter and right-arm off spinner, Gardner also plays for New South Wales in the Wome ...

replaced Mooney as captain of the franchise. The change in leadership produced immediate dividends for the Giants, as they won 4 of their 8 league matches to qualify for the Playoffs for the first time in their history. Mooney herself played a decisive role in this change in fortunes, scoring 237 runs across 9 innings at a strike rate of 128.10. She was the second highest run-scorer for the Giants, and her tally included a knock of 96*(59) against the UP Warriorz, the highest individual score for a Gujarat Giants batter. Her season ended with a defeat in the Eliminator to eventual champions

International career

Mooney was a member of the victorious Southern Stars squad that won the

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014. It was played in t ...

title in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Mooney played her first game for the

Australia women's national cricket team The Australian women's national cricket team, formerly known as the Southern Stars, represent Australia in international cricket. Currently captained by Alyssa Healy and coached by Shelley Nitschke, they are the top team in all world rankings ...

in a

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

match against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

on 26 January 2016 at the

Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a stadium in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Parklands, parklands. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, ...

. On 26 February 2017, she scored her maiden

Women's One Day International Women's One Day International (ODI) is the limited overs form of women's cricket. Matches are scheduled for 50 overs, equivalent to the men's game. The first women's ODIs were played in 1973, as part of the first Women's World Cup which was ...

(WODI) hundred against New Zealand. Mooney's consistently good performances for Australia in 2016–17, during which she scored 334 runs in her nine WODIs at an average of 41.75, and became the first Queenslander to score a WODI century, led to her achieving her primary goal for that summer: selection in the team's 15-member squad for the

2017 Women's Cricket World Cup The 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup was an international women's cricket tournament that took place in England from 24 June to 23 July 2017. It was the eleventh edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup, and the third to be held in England (after ...

in England. She also made her

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

debut for Australia against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 9 November 2017 in the

Women's Ashes The Women's Ashes is the perpetual trophy in women's international cricket series between England and Australia. The name derives from the historic precedent of the Ashes in cricket and, until 2013, was similarly decided exclusively on the outc ...

. In December 2017, she won both the inaugural ICC T20I Player of the Year and Emerging Player of the Year awards. In April 2018, she was one of the fourteen players to be awarded a national contract for the 2018–19 season by

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA) is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Cricket'. It is incorporated as an Australian Public Company ...

. In October 2018, she was named in Australia's squad for the

2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 The 2018 Women's World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the Women's World Twenty20, hosted in the West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018. It the second World Twenty20 hosted by the West Indies (after the 2010 edition), and the West Indies wer ...

tournament in the West Indies. In April 2019,

awarded her with a contract ahead of the 2019–20 season. In June 2019, Cricket Australia named her in Australia's team for their tour to England to contest the

. In January 2020, she was named in Australia's squad for the

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2020 Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The 2020 Women's T20 World Cup final, final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Internati ...

in Australia. In Australia's match against

, Mooney and

combined for an opening partnership of 151 runs, the highest partnership for Australia Women for any wicket in a WT20I match. In the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, Mooney top-scored for Australia, finishing unbeaten on 78 off 54 balls to help Australia win their fifth title. Mooney also finished as the tournament's leading runs scorer with 259 runs, including the most fours (30), and was named player of the tournament. In February 2021, Mooney voiced her ambition to eventually succeed

as the national team's first choice wicket-keeper. On 15 April 2021, Mooney was named as the ''Wisden'' Leading Woman Cricketer in the World for her performances the previous year. On the same day, it was announced that she had retained her Australian central contract. In January 2022, Mooney was named in Australia's squad for their series against England to contest the

. Later the same month, she was named in Australia's team for the

2022 Women's Cricket World Cup The 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup was the twelfth edition of the Women's Cricket World Cup, which was held in New Zealand in March and April 2022. It was originally scheduled for 6 February to 7 March 2021 but was postponed by one year due ...

in New Zealand. She hit 330 runs, including a half-century in the final, helping Australia clinch the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

title. In May 2022, Mooney was named in Australia's team for the cricket tournament at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. She was leading run-scorer, with 179, and the player of the match for her 61 in the final, as Australia won the Commonwealth Games. She scored 918 international runs at an average of 65 in the year 2022, and was named as the ''Wisden'' Leading Woman Cricketer in the World for her performances. She was named in the Australia squad for the

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup The 2024 Women's T20 World Cup was the ninth edition of the Women's T20 World Cup. Originally scheduled to be hosted in Bangladesh from 3 to 20 October 2024, it was later relocated to the United Arab Emirates for the same dates due to political ...

and the 2025 Women's Ashes series.

Off the field

Interviewers have described Mooney as "flying under the radar", something she prefers to do. However, she admitted in June 2020 that in light of her recent success on the field, keeping a low profile was going to be more difficult. She also said that "... it's all good if I can’t!"

International centuries

Overview

On 1 February 2025, Mooney became the fourth woman, and first Australian woman, to score a century in all three international formats, when she completed the maiden Test century (of 106 runs) she had started the previous day, during the Only Test of the 2024–25 Women's Ashes series at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

. She had reached her maiden international century in the first match of the 2016–17 Rose Bowl WODI series against New Zealand, at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

, Auckland, in February 2017, scoring exactly 100 runs. In November 2017, Mooney scored her maiden T20I century, the first scored by any woman in Australia, in the final match of the 2017–18 Women's Ashes at

Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, Australian Capital Territory, Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka, Australian Capital Territory, Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating ...

, Canberra. She made 117

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

from 70 balls. Since then, she has scored four further international centuries, one in a T20I, two in One Day Internationals, and the maiden Test century.

Test centuries

One Day International centuries

Twenty20 International centuries

Honours

Team

* 3×

ICC Women's World Twenty20 The Women's T20 World Cup is the biennial international championship for women's Twenty20 International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council, with the first edition having been held i ...

champion:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Women's Cricket World Cup The Women's Cricket World Cup is the quadrennial international championship of Women's One Day International Cricket tournament. Matches are played as One Day Internationals over 50 overs per team. There is also another championship for Tw ...

champion:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

champion:

*3×

champion: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22 *

champion:

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual

* 2x ''Wisden'' Leading Woman Cricketer in the World: 2020, 2022 * ICC Women's World Twenty20 Player of the Tournament:

* Commonwealth Games Player of the Gold Medal Match: 2022 * 2× Belinda Clark Award winner: 2021, 2023 *

Player of the Tournament: 2016–17

References

External links

*
Beth Mooney
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Beth 1994 births Living people Cricketers from Victoria (state) Sportswomen from Victoria (state) Australia women Test cricketers Australia women One Day International cricketers Australia women Twenty20 International cricketers Brisbane Heat (WBBL) cricketers Northern Districts women cricketers Queensland Fire cricketers Yorkshire Diamonds cricketers Yorkshire women cricketers Perth Scorchers (WBBL) cricketers IPL Trailblazers cricketers Gujarat Giants (WPL) cricketers Women's Premier League (cricket) captains Australian expatriate cricketers in India Wisden Leading Woman Cricketers in the World Wicket-keepers Cricketers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cricket London Spirit cricketers Australian expatriate cricketers in England Western Australia women cricketers Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Manchester Originals cricketers

Early life and career

Domestic career

Australia

England

India

International career

Off the field

International centuries

Overview

Test centuries

One Day International centuries

Twenty20 International centuries

Honours

Team

Individual

See also

References

Further reading

External links