Buried inside the final, already-decided match of Australia Women’s ODI series against Bangladesh is a milestone worth pausing on: Beth Mooney is set to win her 100th ODI cap when the sides meet for a third time at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on October 14, a landmark that arrives in the twilight of a series Australia have already won 2-0.
A career built on versatility
Mooney, a left-handed wicketkeeper-batter born in Shepparton, Victoria, made her ODI debut against New Zealand back in February 2016, and in the decade since has built a reputation as one of the most reliable batters in the women’s game across all three formats. In February 2025, she became just the fourth woman in history — and the first Australian woman — to score a century in Test, ODI and T20I cricket, a rare feat that speaks to a technical completeness few of her peers can match. Her T20I numbers alone are extraordinary: more than 3,400 runs at an average above 41, including a top score of 117 not out, and she briefly became the world’s number one ranked T20I batter back in March 2020.
World Cup pedigree
Mooney’s résumé includes a starring role in Australia’s triumphant 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup campaign in New Zealand, where she scored 330 runs across the tournament, including a half-century in the final itself. She was also part of Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning squads in 2018 and 2020, and was named player of the tournament in the 2020 edition after finishing as the leading run-scorer with 259 runs — form that, combined with a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she again finished as leading run-scorer and player of the match in the final, places her among the most decorated white-ball cricketers of her generation, male or female.
Why this particular milestone matters
Reaching a century of ODI appearances is a marker reserved for players who combine longevity with consistent selection, and for a wicketkeeper-batter specifically it also reflects durability through the physical demands of keeping across a decade of international cricket. Her ODI numbers to date — more than 3,000 runs at an average near 49, with five centuries and twenty fifties — place her firmly among Australia’s great modern batting generation, alongside teammates like Ellyse Perry and the now-retiring generation of players who delivered Australia’s long run of white-ball dominance.
Timing: a milestone inside a dead rubber
There is a slight irony to the timing: Mooney’s milestone match arrives only after Australia have already secured the series, following wins in the first two matches headlined by Georgia Voll’s unbeaten 131 in the second game. Some observers might argue a landmark like this deserves a match that still carries competitive stakes; others would counter that a dead rubber, free of pressure, is exactly the stage on which a senior player can enjoy a milestone without the tension of a series decider hanging over the occasion.
Form heading into the milestone
Mooney’s most recent form in franchise cricket has remained sharp — in the most recent Women’s Premier League season, she scored 258 runs at a strike rate above 122 for Gujarat Giants, the most of any Giants batter that year, including a 62 not out in the Eliminator that nonetheless was not enough to carry her franchise into the final. She was retained by Gujarat Giants ahead of their most recent auction, a sign that franchise owners continue to value her game awareness and composure under pressure as much as national selectors do.
What’s next
Beyond the Brisbane milestone, Mooney’s continued presence in the squad points to a broader truth about Australia’s women’s side: even as younger batters like Voll and Litchfield emerge as the next generation of match-winners, the senior pros who built Australia’s dominant era remain central to the group’s success. With a clean sweep of Bangladesh on the cards and a card of white-ball cricket still to come this summer, her 100th cap is as much a marker of the past decade of Australian cricket as it is a springboard into whatever comes next.
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