Broken jaws and smashed records – Mooney eyes more glory

“I have two titanium plates in my face, one near my chin, and one near my ear,” I said.

Beth Mooney, an Australian batsman, smiles as she discusses the severe injuries she sustained while playing for Australia in January 2022.

For the most part, damage like that, which included her jaw breaking during a “rogue” delivery by coach Matthew Mott, would make you consider switching to a gentler vocation.

Ten days later, Mooney was batting at three in a Test match, assisting Australia in achieving yet another Ashes victory.

At the age of 31, Mooney has won numerous individual awards, including four World Cups, a Commonwealth Games gold medal, and three Ashes series. She became the first Australian woman to record a century in each of the three game formats earlier this year.

With these accolades, you would be at the forefront of any advertising campaign, but Mooney is happy to be a little more reserved among the Australian team that includes stars like Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy.

“Perry and Healy] definitely kicked off the women’s game, which was once a little “pretty” back in 2015-16,” said Perry. They have, in fact, earned the right to serve as our generation’s beacons, according to Mooney.

I’m more than happy to be let go of the spotlight and let them do everything, and it’s no wonder no one is even scratching my nose.

A player who had to fight her way into the Australian team has the ability to do her job quietly and brilliantly.

There is no sense in a pitcher with close to 6, 000 international runs ever believing in herself as the main priority, despite the fact that all good batters need to have some degree of selfishness.

You have to be a little bit selfish as well, she said, “but I’d like to think I’m pretty selfless.” “I’m just happy that this generational Australian team has a way,” said I.

Few players are more capable of saving a team from 76-7 in a World Cup game than Mooney, as was the case with Pakistan this month.

It was a little gloomy, wasn’t it? “says Mooney”. You enter games with a little bit of a plan and an idea of how things will turn out, which I didn’t have when I woke up.

I “favor those situations, wanting to be the person who can influence the game’s outcome, and I enjoy the problem-solving element of it, having to adjust and adapt as the game progresses.”

This remarkable Australian side consistently embodies the need for unwavering hard work, if there is one thing. This attitude is exemplified by Mooney.

The Queenslander ran 54 of her 94 runs in the match-winning innings of Australia’s 16-0 victory in the 2025 Women’s Ashes. Before, no Australian player had allowed more than 100 non-boundary runs in a T20.

Before I left home, she said, “I probably didn’t really understand what it took to play at the elite level.” Knowing what it takes is one thing, but learning to work hard and not feel uncomfortable is another.

Australian players consistently push themselves to the limit.

Everyone does it because they understand how important it is, according to Mooney, “and people don’t have to be told that they need to run or work out.”