Perth downplay concerns captaincy will affect Beth Mooney's prolific output with the bat as Sophie Devine steps away from the role in WBBL|12
Mooney to lead Scorchers as Devine's reign ends
Perth Scorchers have announced a new captain for Weber WBBL|12 with Australia wicketkeeper-batter Beth Mooney named as Sophie Devine's successor.
Mooney, who has played 80 games for the Scorchers since moving from Brisbane Heat in 2020, has taken the reins from the New Zealand international to end her six-year stint as skipper.
"It's an incredible honour and opportunity to be offered the chance to lead Perth Scorchers in WBBL|12," Mooney said in a statement.
"Perth and the Scorchers have become a second home to me, and I've been fortunate to play alongside some amazing teammates and leaders during my time in WA. We've built a strong culture on and off the field and we're incredibly proud to represent the state.
"Soph (Devine) has done an incredible job over the last six years, and I'll no doubt be picking her brains throughout the season.
"We have a talented team that is hungry for success - especially after falling just short in last year's decider - so we're itching to step on to the field."
Devine led the club to their one and only women's Big Bash title to date in WBBL|07, during her and Mooney's first season with the side.
The 37-year-old played her last international in June after the White Ferns' final T20 World Cup match, but she had previously given up all leadership duties with NZ last year.
She is Perth's most-capped overseas import having played 77 games with the Western Australian team.
While she won't be the club's WBBL captain this season, head coach Becky Grundy praised Devine for keeping the Scorchers competitive across her tenure.
"Soph has been an exceptional leader, our first championship captain and a huge driver of our fantastic team culture," Grundy said in statement.
"We're grateful for the enormous amount she contributed to the role, and I look forward to working closely with her and Beth (Mooney) again this season as we target the club's second championship.
"Beth is an exceptional leader whose actions consistently set the benchmarks for those around her.
"Her experience at the highest level of the game, combined with her competitiveness, professionalism and genuine care for her teammates, make her the ideal person to lead this group."
Mooney possesses arguably the most formidable CV of any player in the competition's history.
The prolific left-handed opener is the league's all-time leading run-scorer with 5,600 runs, and she's been the leading run-scorer in five of her six Big Bash seasons at the Scorchers.
Since starting her Big Bash career at the Heat, where she won two titles in WBBL|04 and WBBL|05, Mooney has become the most-capped player with 155 games under her belt and she's completed the most dismissals (124) behind the stumps.
The three-time WBBL champion has also had a year to remember on the global stage, having earned both the player of the tournament and player of the final awards in Australia's successful quest for a seventh T20 World Cup.
She currently holds the top spot in the world's T20 international batting rankings as judged by the ICC.
Given her explemplorary record, Grundy told cricket.com.au the club pondered whether adding captaincy to Mooney's role could hinder her performance, but she doesn't believe the added responsibility will affect Mooney's batting.
"I think it's always a consideration when those players take on a captaincy role and hence why 'Moons' was heavily involved in that decision making process," Grundy said.
"She feels like it's not going to be too much different to the role that she was playing previously and we've got a lot of people that can support her too.
"There's always a factor, particularly when you've got a record as prolific as hers, but we've seen her captain in other teams and have just as much success with the bat out in the middle."
Mooney has experience leading T20 teams having been named as the foundation captain for Women's Premier League team Gujarat Giants.
She was also captain of Manchester Super Giants (formerly Manchester Originals) during the UK's Hundred tournament last year.
Although Grundy said Mooney and Devine are "very different personalities", the former England player expects the pair to continue to complement each other despite the change in leadership.
"Soph brings the the fun and the fizz around the group and Moons tactically is very across what's going on," Grundy said.
"Moons leads from the front, She always has. Whether that be in training or on-field performances, she absolutely leads from the front.
"She's done it (the role) before while Sophie's been there and I think it's an important transition. She's the heartbeat of the club and we're really fortunate that she was willing to take that on this year."
The Scorchers begin their WBBL season against Melbourne Renegades at the WACA Ground on Saturday with Pakistan captain Fatima Sana set to make her Big Bash debut.
Weber WBBL|12 Standings
Round 1
| Team | M | W | L | T | D | N/R | NRR | Ded. | Bat | Bowl | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SCO
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.422 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
2
THU
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.335 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
3
STR
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
4
SIX
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
5
STA
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.075 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
|
6
HEA
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
HUR
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
REN
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2.265 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points