Beth Mooney, Australia’s accomplished opening batter, is calling for women’s cricket to “keep pushing the boundaries” in the pursuit of equal pay for global competitions. As she prepares to return to the Hundred after a year’s absence, Mooney is set to join Manchester Originals as their star overseas signing, bringing her focus on equity to the forefront of her cricketing journey.

Mooney’s return to the Hundred and the push for equal pay

At 30 years old, Beth Mooney was the Manchester Originals’ first pick in this year’s draft, securing a top-tier £50,000 deal. This marks a significant increase from the £31,250 that the ECB had previously set as the top salary bracket for the 2023 draft. However, this amount is still a fraction of the £125,000 top-tier salary in the men’s competition and much less than the £200,000 Mooney earned from the Gujarat Giants in the inaugural WPL auction in February 2023.

“I’m not sure it’s quite equal billing, because the men still get paid more,” Mooney told ESPNcricinfo during a KP Snacks event at Cheetham Hill. “But yeah, in terms of the exposure, and the fan base, and the quality of the tournament, it’s certainly up there with one of the best going around. It’s doing a great job with getting more opportunities for women in this country to play cricket but, as with any women’s sport, we’re not quite there with equal billing.”

While Mooney acknowledges the positive strides being made, she remains cautious about any premature self-congratulation regarding the state of women’s cricket in England. Despite the Hundred’s efforts to offer equal opportunities through shared facilities and double-header match days, the journey toward salary parity is ongoing. The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) recommended that English cricket aim for equal salaries in the Hundred by 2025, but the ECB pushed back, citing the commercial and media value disparities between the men’s and women’s games.

“I don’t know if it’s quite an achievable goal,” she said. “The men obviously bring in a lot of revenue across the world, in terms of the viewership and the broadcast and things like that, so the remuneration piece is always a bit of a tough one.

“But we’ve got to keep pushing the boundaries a bit,” she added. “I think we’ve got to keep asking the right questions of the ICC, and of each of the different boards of the countries, and make sure that we’re still striving to get, first and foremost, more girls in the game, but making sure there’s equal opportunities across the board for each country and the females as well.”

Challenges and expectations in the Hundred

Last year, several of Australia’s top female talents withdrew from the Hundred, partly due to the lucrative opportunities in the WPL, where the average spend on 14 Australian players exceeded £100,000 each. Additionally, their primary focus during the off-season was the Women’s Ashes in June and July, a series that proved to be one of the most competitive in recent years. England leveled the multi-format series at 8-8, marking the closest Australia had come to losing the Ashes since 2013-14.

As the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh approaches in October, Mooney remains unfazed by the increased competition, viewing it as a natural outcome of the sport’s growing global popularity. Unlike in the men’s game, where franchise teammates often avoid facing each other in nets to maintain secrecy before international tournaments, Mooney does not anticipate such issues with her England teammates Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Filer, who will join her at Manchester Originals.

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Mooney is aware of the high expectations surrounding her return to the Hundred, fueled by her substantial contract and her impressive past performance in the competition. Her memorable innings of 97 not out from 55 balls for London Spirit against Southern Brave in 2022 remains a highlight, at the time the highest score in the tournament’s history. As she takes the field again, Mooney is set to make an impact both on and off the pitch, championing the cause of equal pay in women’s cricket.