Ashleigh Gardner has demonstrated the leadership the Sixers value with an epic knock of 124 from 60 balls setting up a massive 87-run win for her Sixers over Hobart.
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It was the fourth highest ever score in WBBL history, her second in the competition, nine years after her first.
The 29-year-old carried the Sixers back into Sunday night’s match against the Hobart Hurricanes with 10 fours and the fourth most sixes in a WBBL innings, with nine.
Soon after coming to the crease, Gardner’s Sixers were reeling at 3/6 after 2.3 overs, before combining with England international Alice Capsey (54 not out from 40) for a fourth-wicket partnership worth 176, the second-highest stand ever behind Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy’s unbeaten 199 in 2019.
Elsewhere, Brisbane Heat’s almost two-year winless drought has been prolonged by Sydney Thunder’s record WBBL run chase at Drummoyne Oval, led by Heather Knight.
Thunder had never chased a total as big as the 179 to win set by the visitors, but Sunday changed that, with the former England captain steering the victory with 54 not out from 29 balls.
At the halfway mark of the chase, Thunder’s run rate was level with what was required, and then Knight clicked into gear with her first six of the day in the 11th over before sending the ball over cover, clearing the boundary off the first ball of the 14th, and the Thunder had all the momentum, reaching 4/180 with 20 balls to spare.
Despite the 63-run partnership between Knight and Anika Learoyd (37 from 28) being broken in the 13th over, giving the Heat a glimmer of hope after their 5/178, Thunder lost no momentum with the arrival of big-hitting Laura Harris (35 from 16), who smoked three straight fours to finish the power surge.
Earlier, captain Phoebe Litchfield let another opportunity for a big score slip after 41 from 19.
The total posted by Brisbane was the highest ever score at Drummoyne Oval and the loss extended Heat’s winless streak past 702 days, and to 12 matches.
Grace Harris (58 from 37) and captain Georgia Redmayne (57 from 44) each made valuable contributions for the Heat.
HARRIS SHOWS GLIMPSES OF HER ‘BEST’
Despite battling the effects of illness, the ball started to find the middle of Grace Harris’ bat at Drummoyne Oval, for the first time in a while.
Having not scored a short form half-century since early August and left out of Australia’s recent T20 international series against New Zealand, Harris found some of the form that has earned her the reputation as one of the competition’s most dangerous ball strikers, with three WBBL centuries to her name.
Her half-century came up off 32 balls, hit seven fours, two sixes during her stay at the crease before finding Hannah Darlington in the deep, early in the 14th over. In the process, Harris passed 3,000 WBBL runs.