Beth Mooney says she was delighted to have taken full advantage of a rare chance to play for WA after powering her side to a season-opening Women’s National Cricket League victory over Tasmania on Tuesday.

A long-time star for Australia, Mooney joined WA from Queensland in 2022 but international commitments meant she had managed only five WNCL appearances for the State ahead the first game of their 2026/27 campaign.

The left-hander showed all of her quality in compiling a magnificent 117 not out from 94 balls to help her side beat the Tigers by four wickets at the WACA Ground.

WA were in a spot of bother when Mooney was joined by her international teammate Alana King (55 not out) at 6-128, but the pair promptly peeled off an unbeaten 108-run seventh-wicket stand to get them home with just under 15 overs to spare.

Mooney said she was eager to repay the faith the people in charge of running WA’s program had shown in her.

“Since I came over here a few years ago, I’ve only played a handful of games, but any opportunity I get to wear the yellow and black is unreal,” Mooney said.

“I owe WA Cricket a lot, so the least I can do is play a couple of WNCL games and get around the group, because everyone’s so good to me.

“I speak very highly of this program and (coach) Becky (Grundy) and (high-performance manager) Kade Harvey and everyone that works here.

“It feels like a home away from home for me, so I feel very lucky.”

Mooney was also full of praise for fast bowler Ruby Strange, who followed in her footsteps by making a move from Queensland to WA ahead of this season and bagged a five-wicket haul in her debut for her new State.

“That’s never easy, to come into a new environment and leave the home you’ve loved for so long,” Mooney said.

“To see her do really well and grab the game when Tassie were on a bit of a roll there was amazing.

“There was contributors all throughout the day. The game ebbed and flowed a bit but when we had the chance to grab it, there were different players that stood up, including Kingy at the end.”

WA will be back in action against the Tigers at the WACA Ground on Thursday, with Mooney and King then set to link up with Australia’s squad for their One-Day International series against Bangladesh as WA shift into Twenty20 mode for the Spring Challenge.