World Cup-winning captain. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
That is now the reality for Bairnsdale’s own Sophie Molineux, who on Sunday night led the Australian women’s cricket team to T20 World Cup glory, defeating England by seven wickets at London’s historic home of cricket, Lord’s.
In what quickly became iconic images, Molineux was pictured celebrating on the famous Lord’s dressing room balcony with a beer and a stump in hand—capturing a triumphant moment that mirrored those of her childhood hero, the late Shane Warne.
It was Molineux’s first major tournament in the captain’s role, a position she has held for less than 12 months. Her elevation has faced intense scrutiny, largely due to a succession of severe injuries that threatened to derail her career.
Yet, the unflappable former West Bairnsdale cricketer showed poise, class, and immense tactical nous throughout the tournament, drawing widespread praise from her teammates. Having started her journey on the sidelines watching her father, Mark, play local cricket for West Bairnsdale, Molineux has now reached the absolute pinnacle of the sport.
“It’s been the most amazing day,” Molineux said.
“To have walked away with a World Cup under our arms in front of 30,000 here at Lord’s, it was an incredible, special day and I’m just so proud of the group.”
Appointed in January, Molineux’s elevation to the captaincy surprised many in the wider cricket world, given her history of layoffs. Injuries meant she had only represented her country 58 times over a 10-year international career.
A foot stress fracture in late 2021 kept her out of the 50-over World Cup and the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She then ruptured her ACL, ruling her out for a year and forcing her to miss the 2023 T20 World Cup campaign.
Even after her appointment, lower back pain struck in February, followed by a March tour of the Caribbean where she could only feature as a batter. Doubts naturally began to creep in.
“When I took over, I was a bit messy at the start, to be fair,” Molineux said.
“Captaining a couple of games and getting injured, I suppose there were a few doubts internally and externally. But you just have to keep believing. I’m incredibly lucky that people believed in me.”
While critics questioned bypassing experienced leaders like Tahlia McGrath and Ash Gardner — who were named as Molineux’s deputies — her hometown supporters and cricket purists knew her pedigree. Molineux captained Victoria’s under 18s, took the reins of the senior state side at just 22, and led the Melbourne Renegades to a historic WBBL title.
Player of the match Beth Mooney was full of praise for her skipper’s temperament.
“There were some concerns about her taking over the leadership, but internally we all knew it was the right call,” Mooney said.
“She’s got great tactical nous and is good with people. There’s only a handful of players I’ve played under that can make it work like Soph has.”
In the final, played before a sold-out crowd of 29,000, Molineux won the toss and elected to bowl, restricting England to 4/150. The skipper claimed 1/32 from her four overs.
In reply, the Australians chased down the total in just 17 overs, fuelled by a dominant 100-run partnership off 67 balls between Mooney (64) and Phoebe Litchfield (48). Record-breaker Ellyse Perry, a constant in all seven of Australia’s T20 World Cup wins, hit the winning runs.
“To get over the line in Soph’s first World Cup as captain, it’s a joy to be a part of,” Perry said.
Post-match, an exhausted Molineux joked that she might “clean my teeth and go to bed,” but Litchfield doubted that, dubbing the skipper the team’s “best partier.”
“A lot is down to our skipper, who has done a brilliant job to set us up physically and mentally. Her leadership, presence, and beautiful mind set us up for success,” Litchfield said.
With Australia back on top of the world after their 2024 semi final exit, Molineux believes this is just the beginning.
“We don’t think we’ve reached any ceilings yet,” she said. “I hope it becomes one of the great sides. Beyond the cricket, they’re all just really good people who want the best for each other, and that’s the beauty of this team.”
