Sophie Molineux

A street smart cricketer, Molineux is an all-rounder who plays for the Australia women’s team and for Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League.

Molineux made her debut for Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League in 2016. She performed well in the tournament and finished the season with 7 wickets at an average of 20.71. 

Molineux won the league’s Young Gun Award for the WBBL season 3. She accumulated 318 runs and took 6 wickets at a healthy economy of just over 6 runs per over.

In the 2017 Allan Border Medal ceremony, she was awarded the inaugural Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year Award. 

In the 2018 Women’s Big Bash League, Molineux scored 354 runs and took 16 wickets to help Renegades reach the finals of the tournament. For her all-round performance, Molineux was named ‘Renegades’ Most Valuable Player of the WBBL season.

After being one of the most consistent performers in the domestic circuit, Molineux was added to the T20I squad to face India. She had a decent match, going for 15 runs in 2 overs as Australia won the match by 6 wickets. 

She was included in Australia’s squad for the 2018 Women’s World T20I, and was one of the key players for the Aussies, scalping 4 wickets in the tournament including figures of 2 for 20 in a crucial group stage match against New Zealand.

The following year, she was plagued with shoulder injuries but recovered just on time for the 2019 Women’s Ashes series. In her maiden Test match at Taunton, she played a gritty knock of 41 in the second innings and also picked up 4 wickets in the match to leave a great first impression. 

In the 2020 Women’s World T20 tournament, Molineux did not play in any of the group matches due to injury but returned for the semifinal clash against South Africa, a tournament which Australia won by defeating India in the finals. 

A wily left-arm spinner and a clean hitter of the ball, Molineux has been a big game player for her side. 

(As of Mar 2021)