Sydney Sixers left-arm pacer Lauren Cheatle marked her 100th Women’s Big Bash League appearance in emphatic fashion, featuring in her side’s comprehensive 87-run victory over the defending champions Hobart Hurricanes at Drummoyne Oval on 1st November 2026. The 27-year-old reached the milestone in the Sixers’ second game of the 12th edition, which runs from 29th October to 5th December 2026, and contributed a tidy 1/23 from four overs as Ashleigh Gardner’s side made it two wins from two.
Hurricanes captain Nicola Carey won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision that appeared justified when Sydney Sixers slumped to 6/3 inside 2.3 overs. However, Gardner produced one of the great WBBL innings, smashing 124 off 60 balls with 10 boundaries and 9 sixes. Together with Alice Capsey, who finished unbeaten on 54 from 40 deliveries, she added 176 for the fourth wicket, the highest fourth-wicket stand in tournament history and the second-highest partnership for any wicket in the WBBL. The Sixers eventually posted 196/8.
Gardner’s knock also carried historical weight: it is now the highest individual score by a captain in WBBL history, surpassing former Hobart Hurricanes skipper Rachel Priest’s unbeaten 107 off 68 balls against Melbourne Stars in Hobart during the seventh edition in 2021. Hobart’s reply never gathered momentum, and they were bowled out for 109 in 17.4 overs, giving the Sixers their second-biggest winning margin in the competition. Cheatle bowled with control, returning 4-0-23-1 and dismissing Molly Starno for a two-ball duck.
Cheatle’s WBBL journey began with Sydney Thunder in the inaugural 2015 season. She made her debut on 6th December 2015 against Sydney Sixers at Sydney and immediately announced herself with sensational figures of 4/20 from four overs. On that day, she removed Sara Hungerford, Sara McGlashan, Marizanne Kapp and Angela Reakes as the Sixers were restricted to 101/9; Thunder then chased 103 with the loss of just one wicket in 13.2 overs. Across 23 matches and 23 innings for Thunder, Cheatle took 20 wickets at an average of 25.7 and an economy rate of 6.19, including that four-wicket haul.
Her move to Sydney Sixers in 2018 opened a new and more prolific chapter. Cheatle debuted for the Sixers on 1st December 2018 against Melbourne Stars at Melbourne and has since become a dependable new-ball and death-overs option. In 77 matches and innings for the club, she has claimed 83 wickets at an average of 22.33 and an economy rate of 7.28. Her overall WBBL record now stands at 103 wickets from 100 innings at an average of 22.99 and an economy rate of 7.01, with one four-wicket haul.
The milestone is especially fitting given the Sixers’ strong start to the campaign. After defeating Brisbane Heat by four wickets in a last-ball thriller at Allan Border Field on 30th October, Gardner’s team backed it up with this dominant display. Sydney Sixers will now travel to Melbourne to face Meg Lanning’s Melbourne Stars at Junction Oval in the 12th match of the ongoing edition, starting at 1:40 PM IST.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.