Australian opener Beth Mooney’s record-breaking performances has seen her named Player of the Tournament for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, which ended with the hosts lifting the title following an 85-run win over India in the final at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
Mooney scored 259 at the top of the order for the home side, the most accrued by a batter in any single edition as Australia won the tournament for the fifth time.
That earned her recognition from the selection panel, formed by commentators and former international players Ian Bishop, Anjum Chopra and Lisa Sthalekar, journalist Raf Nicholson and ICC representative Holly Colvin.
Consistency was the overriding quality of the 26-year-old and that was certainly evident in the final against India as well, playing second fiddle to fellow opener Alyssa Healy (75) before taking the lead late in the innings.
Mooney batted through the entire 20 overs and finished her knock unbeaten on 78, the highest score that has been made in a Women’s T20 World Cup Final.
But Mooney, who averaged 64 from her six innings with three half-centuries, took the time to give credit to her victorious Australian teammates.
“I’m lost for words, it’s been an amazing tournament with the crowds amazing throughout. We’ve been riding the wave and sticking to processes. We have such an elite line-up that if it isn’t your day, someone else can step up and do it.Midge [Alyssa Healy] makes life easy by hitting the ball as well as she does – it means I don’t have to do much at the other end," the ICC press release quoted Mooney as saying.
Mooney and Australia’s success wrapped up what has been a rollercoaster tournament on home soil.
First came a loss to their final opponents India, needing to play faultless cricket thereon just to make the Melbourne showcase.
They hadn’t played perfectly but saved their best performance until last, with Healy and Mooney setting the tone with 115 for the opening partnership to eventually help Australia post 184 for four in their stipulated 20 overs.
Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen then took over and bagged seven wickets to seal the 85-run win – with 86,174 fans joining them in the MCG stands on International Women’s Day. India were bundled out for 99 runs.
“Getting 86,000 fans here is pretty outrageous.We knew what went wrong in the first game, we had good plans and processes but we just didn’t execute them on the day.You can always be better. It’s a mantra to live by, I always want to challenge myself, and want to be the best in the world," Mooney said.
“We have great resources in our team, and I’m fortunate and grateful for the opportunities I’ve had," she added.
