Beth Mooney talks World Cup finals, injuries and playing in an Australian team for the generations

Mooney has more good days than bad, and there are few players better suited to saving a team from 76-7 down in a World Cup match, as was the case against Pakistan this month.

“It was a bit painful, wasn’t it?” says Mooney. “You go into games with a little bit of a plan, an idea of ​​how things are going to go, and that certainly wasn’t on my bingo card when I woke up.

He added: “I thrive in those situations. I want to be the person who can change the outcome of the match. I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of it, as I have to adapt and adapt as the match goes on.”

If there is one message surrounding this consistently great Australian team, it is the need for consistent hard work. Mooney embodies this attitude.

In the third T20 International, which Australia won 16-0 in the 2025 Women’s Ashes, Queensland ran out 54 of their 94 runs during the match-winning innings. No Australian player has ever scored so many runs in a T20 with non-boundary runs.

“I probably didn’t really understand what it took to play at an elite level until I left home,” she said. “It’s one thing about knowing what it takes but it’s another thing about learning how to work hard and feel uncomfortable.”

Time and time again, Australian players quietly push themselves to the limit.

“There’s a real sense of pride in the way we work, people don’t have to be told they have to go for a run or go to the gym, everyone does it because they know how important it is,” Mooney says.

Although you don’t get the impression that Mouni would ever put her down to the hilt, she knows that success means being tough: “You know that if you let your guard down a little bit, it doesn’t take much for someone who plays well in domestic cricket to take your place.”