Sophie Grace Molineux (born 17 January 1998) is an Australian

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 from

Bairnsdale, Victoria Bairnsdale (locally ) (Gunai language, Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated popu ...

. A

left-arm orthodox Left-arm orthodox spin or left-arm off spin, also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of spin bowling in cricket. Bowlers using this technique bowl with their left-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery spins ...

bowling

all-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

, Molineux has been a member of the national women's team since 2018. At domestic level, she currently plays for

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 ...

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 ...

(WNCL) and captains the

Melbourne Renegades Melbourne Renegades are an Australian professional men's Twenty20 franchise cricket club based in Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. They compete in the Australian Twenty20 cricket competit ...

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 ...

(WBBL). Molineux also represents WPL side

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 ...

Early life and education

Born in the eastern-

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

town of Bairnsdale, Molineux has been involved in cricket since early childhood, sharing a passion for the game with her father Mark. At age ten, she was talent-spotted by former Australian coach John Harmer, who was soon thereafter engaged as her private mentor. She achieved numerous feats in her junior years, such as taking a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

while playing for Gippsland during the 2013–14 Under-18 state championship, and successfully captaining Victoria at the 2015–16 Under-18 national championships. Molineux went on to join

Victorian Premier Cricket Victorian Premier Cricket is the highest level club cricket competition in the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, administered by Cricket Victoria. Each club fields four teams (firsts through to fourths) of adult players and usually play ...

club Dandenong and scored her maiden First XI

century A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. ...

in October 2015. She completed high school in 2016, graduating from Nagle College.

Domestic career

Women's National Cricket League

Molineux debuted for Victoria in the WNCL on 15 October 2016 against the

ACT Meteors The Australian Capital Territory Women cricket team, also known as the Intravision ACT Meteors, is the women's representative cricket team for the Australian Capital Territory. They play most of their home games at Manuka Oval, Canberra and they ...

at the WACA, bowling ten overs with

figures Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patte ...

of 0/34 during a nine-wicket win. In her second match, against the

Western Fury The Western Australia Women cricket team, previously known as Western Fury, is the women's representative cricket team for the Australian State of Western Australia. They play their home games at WACA West Ground, Perth. They compete in the Wo ...

, she dismissed

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...

for her first WNCL

scalp The scalp is the area of the head where head hair grows. It is made up of skin, layers of connective and fibrous tissues, and the membrane of the skull. Anatomically, the scalp is part of the epicranium, a collection of structures covering th ...

and finished with figures of 3/41 as Victoria went on to win by seven wickets. A month later, she top-scored for her team with an innings of 55 from 90 balls, marking her first half-century, in a 29-run loss against the Queensland Fire at

Casey Fields Casey Fields is a $30 million, 70 hectare multi-sports complex in the City of Casey at Cranbourne East, a southeastern suburb of Melbourne. The complex is home to Australian rules football, cricket, netball, soccer, tennis, cycle spor ...

. Molineux finished her strong maiden domestic season with a total of seven wickets at an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 20.71 and was recognised at the 2017 Allan Border Medal ceremony by winning the inaugural Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year Award. On 21 January 2020, Molineux delivered her first Player of the Match performance, taking 3/33 with the ball and scoring 80 runs with the bat in a five-wicket win against

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

at the

TCA Ground The TCA Ground, or Tasmanian Cricket Association Ground, is one of two first-class standard cricket grounds in Hobart, Tasmania. It is located on the Queens Domain less than from the CBD. The TCA Ground is a picturesque ground with a villa ...

Women's Big Bash League

Molineux made her

women's Twenty20 Women's Twenty20 is the use of the Twenty20 match format in women's cricket. In a Twenty20 match, the two teams bat for a single innings each, of a maximum of 20 overs. The wider rules and playing conditions are usually the same for both the m ...

debut for the Melbourne Renegades during the inaugural WBBL season in 2015–16. She took her first wicket against the

Sydney Thunder The Sydney Thunder is an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League. Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Thunder is the successor to the Speed Blitz Blues, ...

Allan Border Field Allan Border Field is a cricket ground in the Brisbane suburb of Albion in Queensland. The Australian Cricket Academy has been based at the oval since 2004, using it as a base for the development of elite cricketers throughout Australia. It ...

, dismissing Nicola Carey for 13. On the opening weekend of the following season at

North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval (Also known as “Bear Park” by North Sydney Bears fans) is a multi-use sporting facility in Miller Street, North Sydney, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is ...

, Molineux claimed figures of 4/18 and scored 28

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 ...

in her first Player of the Match performance, with the Renegades defeating the

Adelaide Strikers The Adelaide Strikers are an Australian professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia that compete in the Big Bash League (BBL).Cricket Australia (n.d), Teams and Players, Cricket Australia, accessed 1 Decemb ...

by seven wickets. Molineux won the league's Young Gun Award for WBBL03, scoring 318 runs at an average of 26.50 and taking six wickets at an

economy rate In cricket, a bowler's economy rate is the average number of runs they have conceded per over bowled. In most circumstances, the lower the economy rate is, the better the bowler is performing. It is one of a number of statistics used to compar ...

of 6.39 across the season. Named the Renegades' Most Valuable Player of WBBL04, Molineux scored 354 runs and took 16 wickets during the tournament to help her team reach the finals for the first time. She was at the centre of a "thrilling" semi-final encounter with the

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 ...

Drummoyne Oval Drummoyne Oval is a multi-use sports ground in the Sydney inner-west suburb of Drummoyne, New South Wales. The ground has been used for international women's cricket matches, domestic men's cricket matches and first grade rugby league as well ...

, scoring 55 from 54 balls to "brilliantly take the chase into the final over". Facing

Ellyse Perry Ellyse Perry (born 3 November 1990) is an Australian cricketer and former soccer, soccer player. Having debuted for both the Australia women's national cricket team, national cricket and Australia women's national soccer team, national soccer t ...

and needing three runs for victory from the last delivery, Molineux struck the ball to the deep point boundary but was short of her ground while attempting the match-winning run, foiled by a "miracle" team fielding effort from the Sixers. With scores consequently tied, the game was forced into a

super over Super Over, also known as a one-over eliminator or a one over per side eliminator, is a Tiebreaker, tie-breaking method used in Limited overs cricket, limited-overs cricket matches. If a match ends in a "Result (cricket)#Tie, tie", it proceeds t ...

, which ultimately resulted in a "heartbreaking loss" for the Renegades. Midway through WBBL05, Molineux requested time away from cricket to focus on her mental health and wellbeing. Ahead of WBBL06, she re-signed with the Renegades for a further two seasons. On 10 June 2021, Molineux was appointed captain of the Renegades for WBBL07, replacing

Amy Satterthwaite Amy Ella Satterthwaite (born 7 October 1986) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as an all-rounder, batting left-handed and bowling either right-arm medium or off break. She appeared in 145 One Day Internationals and 111 Twenty20 In ...

and becoming the youngest player in the team's history to take on the role.

The Hundred

In April 2022, she was bought by the Birmingham Phoenix for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.

International career

2016–17: Development teams

In January 2016, Molineux was chosen for the Governor-General's XI against the touring Indian women's team at Drummoyne Oval. In March 2016, she played for the Shooting Stars—a team of Australia's best emerging female players—against Sri Lankan and English development squads during a tri-nation series in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. Her selection in the Governor-General's XI match continued for two more seasons, playing against the touring South Africa in November 2016 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 ...

and the touring England in November 2017 at Drummoyne Oval.

2018: Limited overs debut, first T20 World Cup title

Molineux was named in Australia's squad for a tour of India in March 2018. She made her debut for the team in a

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

(T20I) on 22 March at

Brabourne Stadium The Brabourne Stadium is an international cricket stadium in Mumbai in Western India, built in the British Bombay era. It is the home ground of the Mumbai men's and Mumbai women's cricket team, women's cricket teams. It can accommodate 50,000 pe ...

, bowling two overs and conceding 15 runs during the six-wicket victory. Her first T20I scalp came on 1 October against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

at Allan Border Field, removing Bernadine Bezuidenhout for a score of three as Australia went on to win by six wickets. Molineux's

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) debut came on 18 October at Kinrara Academy Oval. She took 1/9 from seven overs in what was a five-wicket defeat of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Playing every game in Australia's successful

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 ...

campaign, Molineux claimed four wickets across the tournament, including figures of 2/20 during a 33-run group match defeat of New Zealand to help qualify for the semi-finals. She was used as an opening bowler in the final 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 ...

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a stadium in North Sound, Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda. It was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup where it hosted Super 8 matches. The stadium usually caters for 10,000 people, but temporary seatin ...

, which her team went on to win by eight wickets.

2019: Shoulder injury, Test debut

In February 2019, Molineux dislocated her non-dominant right shoulder while diving during a fielding drill at a training session, consequently ruling her out of an upcoming ODI series against New Zealand. She underwent surgery in March and was awarded a national contract from

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 April. Molineux was not initially selected in Australia's squad for the 2019 Women's Ashes, instead she was included in a concurrent Australia A tour of the United Kingdom, while coach

Matthew Mott Matthew Peter Mott (born 3 October 1973) is an Australian cricket coach and a former first-class cricketer. He is the former coach of the Australian Women's Cricket Team. Mott also previously coached the England men's white-ball cricket team, a ...

flagged her as a potential mid-series call-up if fitness permitted. This inclusion came to fruition, and she 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 at the County Ground in Taunton on 18 July. After being presented her

baggy green The baggy green is a cricket cap of dark myrtle green colour, which has been worn by Australian Test cricketers since around the turn of the twentieth century. The cap was not originally baggy as evidenced by photographs of early players. Th ...

from Belinda Clark, Molineux went on to make a strong contribution throughout the match which ended in a draw, scoring 21 and 41 as a lower-order batter while also claiming bowling figures of 4/95 from 37 overs. Her maiden Test wicket dismissed England captain Heather Knight for 28. She then took 1/26 in the first T20I of the tour, played at

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

on 26 July, which Australia won by 93 runs to seal a comprehensive series victory.

2020: Second T20 World Cup title

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

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 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 ...

, taking place on home soil during the following month. She did not play in any of the group matches of the tournament, having been sidelined with a corked thigh after falling on a ball during training. Her timely inclusion for the semi-final against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

—replacing an injured Ellyse Perry—proved crucial, as she dismissed

Lizelle Lee Lizelle Lee (born 2 April 1992) is a South African cricketer who played for the South Africa women's national cricket team from 2013 to 2022. She has played for Western Storm and Surrey Stars in the Women's Cricket Super League, as well as Melb ...

early in the second innings before Australia held on to win by a narrow five-run margin. 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 ...

, played 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 ...

, Molineux took 1/21 to help her team defeat

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 ...

by 85 runs and win a second-consecutive world championship.

2024 T20 World Cup

Molineux 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 ...

References

External links

Sophie Molineux
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molineux, Sophie 1998 births Cricketers from Victoria (state) Living people Australia women Test cricketers Australia women One Day International cricketers Australia women Twenty20 International cricketers Melbourne Renegades (WBBL) cricketers Victoria women cricketers Birmingham Phoenix cricketers Australian expatriate cricketers in England Canterbury Magicians cricketers