Captaincy was not on the radar for Australian ladies’s cricket star Beth Mooney within the inaugural IPL till she spoke to former nationwide workforce vice-captain Rachael Haynes.
A few conversations later and Mooney will lead out the Gujarat Giants towards Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s Mumbai Indians to kick off the match on Saturday.
Haynes is Gujarat’s head coach and Mooney mentioned it helped her make up her thoughts.
“It (captaincy) certainly wasn’t something that was on my radar,” Mooney, who has led Queensland Fire within the WNCL and Brisbane Heat within the WBBL, mentioned in Navi Mumbai.
“When I got bid on in the auction, I was happy to be a part of it and get picked up by a team.
“Mithali (Raj), the Giants mentor and advisor, gave me a cellphone name in South Africa saying, ‘we might such as you to do it (captaincy) and we’re blissful if you wish to. So simply tell us’.
“After a couple of conversations with Rachael, we both thought that the time was right for me to challenge myself within cricket.”
Mooney was named captain of the Giants a day after her match-winning unbeaten 74 headlined six-time champions Australia’s T20 World Cup win.
Having simply arrived in India, the 29-year-old mentioned she would rely largely on native data when selecting the XI for the primary two video games.
“It’s the support staff that have been around and in touch with the girls,” Mooney, who was snapped up for $AU350,000 on the public sale, mentioned.
“Rach and I have a great relationship … (and it is good) to be able to work pretty close with her … she is in her first ever job as a head coach.
“I’ve obtained a bit little bit of expertise. But I belief Rach and her judgement and so I used to be more than pleased to assist her out.”
There is a distinct Australian flavour to the five-team competition.
Mooney, the player of the match in the T20 World Cup final in Cape Town, is one of three Australians in charge of a WPL side.
Her national team captain Meg Lanning will spearhead the Delhi Capitals while Alyssa Healy will be at the helm of the UP Warriorz.
Meanwhile, Kim Garth, who was part of Australia’s victorious T20 squad, will replace Deandra Dottin at the Giants.
The 26-year-old pace-bowling allrounder, who missed out at the player auction on February 13, was included after Dottin’s unavailaibilty. She becomes the 15th player of the Australian contingent at the WPL.
The sides will square in a round-robin format with each team playing the other twice.
The top-placed team will go directly into the final while the second finalist will be decided through an eliminator between the sides finishing second and third.
The ultimate might be performed on March 26.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
