Aussie skipper bares all on shock promotion… and iconic Warnie tribute

‘S***, this is real’: Aussie skipper bares all on shock promotion… and iconic Warnie tribute

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Tim Miller from Fox SportsSeptember twenty second, 2026 11:41 am

Australian ladies’s captain Sophie Molineux has opened up on her shock ascension to the highest job, revealing the ‘oh, s***’ second the prospect of leading the crew grew to become real.

The 28-year old and long-term Melbourne Renegades captain in the WBBL was named Alyssa Healy’s all-formats successor in January, leading Australia to victory at the T20 World Cup in June and July in her first main task at the helm.

The spin-bowling all-rounder has handled a spate of injuries since making her international debut as a 20-year old in 2018, notably after being part of two World Cup-winning groups in her first two years as part of the XI.

Molineux revealed to The Feminine Athlete Undertaking podcast that the chance first presented itselfce and national selector Shawn Flegler

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“A couple of of us were at a Christmas get together, and ‘Flegs’ known as,” she mentioned.

“He just kind of explained Midge’s (Healy) scenario and that she was going to retire quickly they usually were going to have to begin interested by what was subsequent. And he just requested if I’d be interested by going via the process.

“I actually was like “oh s***, this is real”.

“So I went again home for Christmas and spoke to Mum and Dad and folks again home and I believed, why not?

“(I) threw my name in the ring and had a number of interviews and issues like that. I suppose it labored out.”

The captaincy appointment, picked over long-term deputies Tahlia McGrath and Ash Gardner and veteran Beth Mooney, continued a exceptional rise from country Victoria to the very top of Australian cricket for Molineux.

Having just turned 20, she made her Australian debut on a tour of India in early 2018, on which she admits she was so overawed by sharing a squad with so many of her “idols” and greats of the game, including Healy and Ellyse Perry, that her nerves obtained the higher of her.

“That first tour, I used to be just so nervous. I used to pinch the protein bars, because I used to be too scared to go to crew brekkie,” she mentioned.

“I used to be approach too nervous. These women are my idols, and we were in India of all locations, and there was not a lot skill to go and just chill, and have a espresso, and get to know people.

“I’m like, I don’t know anybody right here, so I’m just going to feast out on my protein bars in my room. A little mouse.

“After which slowly, I believe throughout training, and running drinks and everything, I slowly obtained to make connections with the ladies, after which by the end of that tour, I went to brekkie.

“It took six weeks, but we obtained there.”

The Bairnsdale product was an early product of the Ladies’s Massive Bash League competition, which grew to become the first ladies’s event of its variety when it launched in late 2015.

An inaugural Renegade, she also captained Victoria at the 2015/16 U18 National Championships, earlier than taking up the job at the Renegades as a 23-year old in 2021.

“I believe I used to be 16 once I performed my first year at Renegades, so it was like a dream come true,” she recalled.

“We were enjoying on all these important stadiums earlier than the men, and enjoying with players that I’d regarded as much as for a couple of years. It was hard to imagine … it was just the most effective six weeks of my life, particularly these first couple of years.

“I bear in mind enjoying in opposition to Ellyse Perry, and all I wanted to do was get her to signal my shirt. It was pretty cool.”

The primary years of her career were like a dream.

The latter was notably important: in front of the most important ever crowd at a ladies’s cricket match, 86,174 followers packed the MCG to see Molineux take 1/21 from 4 tight overs in a thumping 85-run win over India.

She then made international headlines after dancing alongside pop icon Katy Perry on stage through the crew’s victory celebrations.

But her career regarded set to be derailed by a collection of injuries, including a ruptured ACL in November 2022, scorching on the heels of missing that year’s ODI World Cup and Commonwealth Video games campaigns with a foot harm.

She believes the first harm was because of “overtraining” as she regarded to retain her spot in the crew.

“I’d won two World Cups by the point I used to be 22,” she instructed The Feminine Athlete Undertaking.

“I bear in mind Georgia Wareham and I sitting there after our second one (in early 2020), all going, if we’ve won two … we’re on monitor to win 12 right here.

“It just doesn’t work like that. And that’s the beauty of sport as effectively.

“I believe that first harm come about in all probability because of making an attempt to keep up with these people and being tremendous hard on myself and overtraining and searching for perfection. And that kind of hit me.

“I had the time to be able to rehab that foot and make it possible for once I come again, I used to be able to keep again. And I felt like I’d finished lots of work in that area. After which (injuring) an ACL, that’s quite uncommon in cricket as effectively, so that was pretty hard to swallow.

“As a result of it was such a long time out, I positively had doubts that I’d play for Australia once more.

“And I had lots of good mates in that crew still and it was actually hard; but in addition, I obtained to a point the place I used to be okay watching them win World Cups. I’d kind of obtained to a point the place I used to be actually joyful that if it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out.

“So I suppose when ‘Flegs’ known as once more a number of years later and mentioned that you simply’re enjoying in the Test, it was actually, I suppose, particular for different reasons.”

Her stint as captaincy began with difficulties.

Molineux was lowered to enjoying as a specialist fielder on a March tour of the West Indies, with a again problem having prematurely ended her first tour as skipper in opposition to India a month earlier.

But her management, in addition to her canny left-arm spin, were essential to Australia’s upset T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year.

The Victorian finished the event with 11 wickets at 14.72 to sit down third on the event leaderboard, which ended with a crushing victory by seven wickets over hosts England in the closing.

She believes going into the event with out the favourites tag, having struggled at main tournaments in recent times, did the crew the world of excellent.

“Us going into that World Cup, I don’t assume we were favourites, which hadn’t been the case like that ever, I don’t assume,” she mentioned.

“We were kind of a bit bit the underdogs. We’d are available in and we hadn’t obtained any trophies in our cabinet. So it was real unknown territory for us, which also makes that win a bit sweeter.

“Part of that was leaning into the liberty and the sensation of just going out there and enjoying and not having to concern dropping something, because we actually hadn’t, we’ve obtained nothing to lose.

“You never actually know with this kind of stuff. But it surely was just in all probability a bit shift in mindset going into this World Cup.

“The girls were incredible in terms of enjoying that with that freedom and it actually turned out to be a really dominant 4 or five weeks for us, which was cool.”

The final carried with it extra significance at Lord’s, the home of English cricket and a venue forbidden for women, players or in any other case, less than a quarter of a century ago.

“We performed England in the closing at Lord’s in front of 30,000 people absolutely sold out, and I bear in mind somebody saying that 24 years ago, ladies weren’t allowed into the members area or something like that,” Molineux mentioned.

“And that was only 24 years ago. So it’s amazing that you simply quick ahead all these years and right here we were, enjoying in front of 30,000 at Lord’s.”

Probably the most iconic second of the celebrations post-victory got here from Molineux.

In a second of inspiration that she says “makes me cringe” looking again, she replicated the well-known stump-flailing celebration of the nice Shane Warne – a fellow Victorian spinner and cult hero – following victory in a 1997 Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

Molineux added that it was veteran Perry who had convinced her to tug it out.

“The seed may need been planted perhaps two weeks earlier than that. But I just refused to let myself think about it too much,” she laughed.

“But ‘Pez’, I believe we spoke about it, she just mentioned “Oh, if this occurs, you’re going to need to do it”.

“I’m like, no, no, I don’t wish to think about it. No, not occurring.

“After which we were all on the balcony having such a good time singing, singing our crew music, getting images finished.

“I don’t know how it happened, but I believe somebody had a stump they usually all had a beer of their hand and it just happened.

“I take a look at it, it makes me cringe a bit bit, but I let you know what, it was good enjoyable for the group, that’s for certain.”

Molineux’s first main off-field check as captain developed in the days and weeks following that whirlwind triumph.

The crew was embroiled in controversy when Monica Wright, Gardner’s long-term accomplice, took to Instagram to allege the star all-rounder had cheated on her with Australian teammate Georgia Voll.

Cricket Australia have since confirmed extra measures have been put in place to make sure crew choice stays neutral, with Gardner remaining Molineux’s vice-captain.

Talking at a Renegades sponsor launch, the captain mentioned the crew culture was sturdy sufficient for both Gardner and Voll to proceed to tribute to the crew’s success.

“I believe they’ll have the ability to carry out,” Molineux instructed CODE Sports.

“They did that for us for the World Cup.

“They’re quality players and the crew won’t be any totally different, in that we’ll get round them like we do with each other and make it possible for efficiency is our primary thing.

“A strong culture and surroundings and in addition efficiency.”

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