"We've got to keep pushing boundaries" - Beth Mooney's message to cricket world over men still getting paid more

Australia star Beth Mooney has said that women's cricket must keep pushing the boundaries in order to reduce the gender pay gap in cricket.

The star batter's comments came as she gears up to make her much-awaited return to The Hundred. Beth Mooney is returning to the competition after a gap of one season. In 2022, the 30-year-old plied her trade for London Spirit before skipping the tournament last year. For the ongoing season, she has signed up as Manchester Originals' overseas player.

In 2023, the England and Wales Cricket Board had set £31,250 as the top salary bracket for the draft before the amount was increased to £50,000 for this year's draft. Beth Mooney was Originals' first pick in the draft and received the top-tier £50,000 deal. On the other hand, the top salary bracket for men in the Hundred is £125,000.

The women's salary in the Hundred is also considerably lower than what the players earn in the Women's Premier League. In the WPL, highest-earner Smriti Mandhana had received around £320,000 at the inaugural auction in 2023. Beth Mooney had also received a lucrative £200,000 contract from Gujarat Giants in the WPL auction last year.

The men still get paid more: Beth Mooney

On Wednesday (July 24), Beth Mooney highlighted the gender pay gap in the Hundred. At the same time, she also said that the tournament provides a good opportunity for women's cricket in terms of exposure, fan base, and quality.

"I'm not sure it's quite equal billing, because the men still get paid more," Mooney told ESPNcricinfo. "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."

Speaking further, the Australia star also shared her views on the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket's recommendation for pay parity in English cricket. She said that achieving the target by next year is tough before stating that women's cricket needs to continue pushing the boundaries.

"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. 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," she added.