During the WBBL 2023 match between Brisbane Heat and Perth Scorchers, Heat’s star batter Grace Harris did something truly extraordinary. She was batting with a broken bat and had the option to switch it out, but instead, she chose to face Piepa Cleary’s delivery with the same damaged bat. The result? A massive six that left the fans amazed. What’s even more incredible is that the bat’s blade broke right after the impact. Watch the video below.
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After the first delivery of the 13th over, Harris called out, “Hey guys, I need a new bat.” When her teammates asked, “need it now, Grace?”, she said: “Nah, nah, it’s alright. It’s a broken handle. Nah, stuff it, I’ll still hit it.” She then proceeded to face Piepa Cleary’s second ball and, despite the bat’s handle breaking off, she managed to hit a 72 meter six.
Grace Harris’s record knock
Grace Harris delivered an extraordinary performance at North Sydney Oval, setting a new record for the highest score in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) history. Harris smashed an unbeaten 136 runs off just 59 balls, which included an impressive 12 fours and 11 sixes, a new WBBL record for the most sixes in an innings.
Harris surpassed the previous highest score held by Smriti Mandhana, who scored 114 not out for the Sydney Thunder against the Melbourne Renegades in 2021, as well as Ash Gardner’s 114 for the Sydney Sixers against the Melbourne Stars in 2017. Additionally, Harris also broke the record for the most sixes in an innings, previously held by Gardner with 10 sixes in her 114-run innings.
Furthermore, Harris’s record innings is the second-highest score in women’s T20 cricket involving international players participating in both full-member teams and franchise leagues worldwide. It falls just short of Alyssa Healy’s 148 not out against the West Indies in 2019. This century is Harris’s third in the WBBL, tying her with Sophie Devine and leaving her two behind Healy, who leads the list with five tons.
Harris was the dominant force in the Heat’s innings, contributing significantly to their total of 229 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. The second-highest score in the innings was Mignon du Preez’s 39 runs from 23 balls. Harris could have pushed for a score over 150, but she only had the opportunity to face two balls in the final over, narrowly missing out on becoming the first player to reach that milestone in the competition.
