Mooney flies under the radar to dominate World Cup

When Australia’s triumphant T20 squad joined Katy Perry on stage following Sunday’s T20 World Cup final, it is safe to say Beth Mooney would have been one of the least comfortable in the spotlight.

While the likes of Sophie Molineux, Erin Burns and Molly Strano strutted their way through the pop superstar’s hit Firework, Mooney remained towards the back.

That is generally the way the newly crowned Player of the Tournament goes about her business; quietly, often under the radar – but recently, almost always prolifically.

She set a new high-water mark for most runs scored by a single player in a women’s T20 World Cup, breaking her captain Meg Lanning’s previous record from 2014 with her 259 runs at 64.75 across six innings.

That included her unbeaten 78 from 54 deliveries in Sunday’s final, alongside her 81 not out against Bangladesh and a critical 60 against New Zealand.

Speaking after Australia’s 85-run victory over India, Mooney confirmed the spotlight did not sit well with her.

"I still think I'm an average cricketer who's a little bit lucky," she added in a typically humble fashion.

"But one of the things I pride myself on is trying to be better every day, whether it's as a cricketer or as a human being.

"And to be able to see some evidence that perhaps I am doing something right is great.

"But also every single person in this group makes it easy to perform on the big stage so it's really exciting that we get to share it together."

Her World Cup run continued what has been a remarkably consistent summer from the 26-year-old, who finished second on the Rebel WBBL runs tally behind Sophie Devine with her 743 at 74.3, while also reminding everyone she has a knack for stepping up on big occasions with her match-winning innings for the Heat in the final.

"Batting is my happy place, it keeps me really calm and I’ve learnt to enjoy the game for what it is," the Queenslander said.

"It’s been really nice to get out there and perform on the big stage and contribute to the team’s success."

While Mooney is no attention seeker, even she acknowledged just how special Sunday’s final was, after she and fellow opener Alyssa Healy walked to the middle in front of 86,174 fans – a record for a standalone women’s sporting event in Australia.

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"There are no words, I think it’ll take a few days to sink in," the left-hander said.

"What a time to be alive, what a time for sport in this country and what a time for cricket to be on the big stage.

"(Walking out with Healy), I had a look around at the crowd and said, ‘How good is this? We’re about to open the batting for Australia in a World Cup final in front of 80,000 people’.

"We soaked it up and enjoyed every moment and had a lot of fun as well."

After Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen ripped through India’s top-order and the required run rate for India continued to rise, Mooney again took a moment to just look around and take in what was happening around her.

There were the deafening cheers from the crowd, a Mexican wave, and a moment during the 16th over of India’s chase where the crowd switched on their mobile phone torches in unison.

"Once they needed fours every ball pretty much, I said to (Erin Burns) on the sideline, ‘We’re winning this World Cup, how cool is this?’," Mooney said.

"The crowd was incredible tonight, they were an unbelievable support and about 75,000 of them were on our side, I think."

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

February 21:India beat Australia by 17 runs

February 24: Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets

February 27: Australia beat Bangladesh by 86 runs 

March 2: Australia beat New Zealand by four runs

March 5: Australia beat South Africa by five runs

March 8: Australia beat India by 85 runs

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

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