Beth Mooney: The stuff heroes are made of

Published on: February 1, 2019 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for the Roar.

So much of the narrative around men’s sport is centred around the idea of a hero. The men who take the field each week to represent our favourite sporting teams are stereotypically known as tough, brave, physical, confident and are held up as heroes to the next generation of children aspiring to play their chosen sport.

This bravery is always celebrated and idolised the most though when a player plays an important game while injured or being unwell.

Brisbane turn up the Heat as Sydney pursue third consecutive WBBL title

Published on: January 24, 2019 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for The Roar.

It’s hard to imagine how the 2019 WBBL04 final between the Brisbane Heat and the Sydney Sixers to be played at 10.10am at Drummoyne Oval this Saturday is going to top the quality of games we saw in the semi-finals last weekend.

However, one thing that has been consistent about the crop of players in the WBBL is that they continue to impress week after week.

The Heat find themselves in the final after defeating the Sydney Thunder by four runs in the first of Saturday’s games. The game came down to the final ball.

WBBL semi finals – get to Drummoyne Oval!

Published on: January 18, 2019 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for the Roar.

The WBBL semi-finals are upon us and tomorrow the Brisbane Heat will play the Sydney Thunder followed by the Melbourne Renegades taking on the reigning champions, the Sydney Sixers at Drummoyne Oval.

The winners of each game will meet in the final next Saturday at either Allan Border Field or Drummoyne Oval (depending on which teams are successful on Saturday).

This WBBL finals series is significant in the history of the tournament given that it will be the first time that stand-alone semi-finals have been held.

WBBL update: Ellyse is Perry, Perry good

Published on: January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for The Roar.

With WBBL semi-finals just over a week away, five teams remain in contention for the top four spots being the Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder, Brisbane Heat, Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers.

Unfortunately for the Melbourne Stars, Hobart Hurricanes and Adelaide Strikers, their WBBL04 campaigns will not progress past Monday.

If you’re a Melbourne-based cricket fan, make sure you get behind the Renegades for their final games. If they can hold onto fourth spot and keep the Scorchers relegated to fifth, they will be the first Melbourne club to feature in the WBBL finals in the history of the competition.

Five teams remain in contention as WBBL hits halfway mark

Published on: January 7, 2019 by Mary Category:Cricket

This story was first written and published for The Roar.

Happy new year women’s sports fans!

While it may be the start of a new year, we are certainly not at the beginning of my favourite domestic cricket competition – the WBBL.

With just under a month to go until the final on the 26th January 2019, there are still five teams in contention for those final four spots – the Sydney Sixers, the Sydney Thunder, the Brisbane Heat, the Perth Scorchers and the Melbourne Renegades.

WBBL returns to North Sydney Oval

Published on: December 7, 2018 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published by the Roar.

The fourth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League got underway last weekend and after the results, I think it’s clear that it is going to be a very competitive season.

There were upsets – most notably the Melbourne Stars defeating the Sydney Sixers by 7 wickets thanks to some tremendous bowling from Nicola Hancock who took 4-22 (including the key wicket of Ellyse Perry) – and some phenomenal batting from Lizelle Lee who scored 102 off 56 balls. That was the fourth highest score in WBBL history and the highest ever total from a Stars player.

WBBL set to begin with a bang in Melbourne

Published on: November 30, 2018 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for The Roar.

On the weekend the Australian Women’s Cricket team beat England in the final of the ICC World T20 Tournament which has taken place in the Caribbean over the last month.

With an eight-wicket win in the final, the Australians were comprehensive victors and now finally have a piece of global silverware to add to their trophy collection.

Fortunately for cricket lovers, the action isn’t over, with the fourth iteration of the Women’s Big Bash League commencing tomorrow. All eight teams will feature in a two-day smorgasbord of cricket taking place at Junction Oval in Melbourne.

Aussie women set for finals showdown against England

Published on: November 24, 2018 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for The Roar.

With a 71-run win over the West Indies Women’s team, the Australian Women’s Cricket team will play in their fifth consecutive ICC T20 World Cup match on Sunday morning.

Leading into the match, the big question on everyone’s lips was ‘will Alyssa Healy be playing?’ Alyssa is currently Australia’s most in-form cricketer, scoring six centuries in her last eight T20 innings but was under an injury cloud following her departure from the field in Australia’s loss to India earlier this week due to concussion.

Australian women storm into T20 semi finals

Published on: November 16, 2018 by Mary Category:Cricket

This story was first written and published for The Roar.

The Australian Women’s Cricket team has one more pool match – against India on Sunday morning at 2am AEST – before they progress to the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s World T20 which is currently being contested in the Caribbean.

The Aussies have been in exceptional form. They beat Pakistan in their first pool match by 52 runs, comprehensively defeated Ireland in their second game by nine wickets and then on Wednesday beat New Zealand by 33 runs.

How I missed a historic Women’s Ashes performance

Published on: November 14, 2018 by Mary Category:Cricket

This article was first written and published for The Roar.

For the Konstantopoulos family, summer is synonymous with cricket.

From when I was a little girl, I have plenty of fond memories playing backyard cricket with my dad and brothers, attempting classic catches into the pool during the hot days and also cuddling up to my dad to watch the Boxing Day Test, often still feeling very snoozy and full of Christmas cheer.