T20 cricket was played in the strongest way possible by Laura Harris, who scored a half-century in just 15 balls as Otago Sparks registered a six-wicket win over Canterbury Magicians in the 2025-26 Women’s Super Smash match held at Molyneux Park.
Harris’ innings of 52 runs off just 17 balls not only helped her side ease past a chase of 146 runs but also led her side to the winning line with 31 balls to spare. She also found a place alongside the fastest fifties in this format of the sport.
Fastest fifties in Women’s T20s:
- 15 Balls – Marie Kelly (Warwickshire v Gloucestershire), 2022
- 15 Balls – Laura Harris (Otago Sparks v Canterbury Magicians), 2025
- 16 Balls – Tess Flintoff (Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers), 2022
- 16 Balls – Aliya Riaz (Rawalpindi v Quetta), 2024
- 16 Balls – Laura Harris (Warwickshire v Durham), 2025
Canterbury Magicians scored 145/6, which was completely reliant on Izzy Sharp’s upright 65* off 47 deliveries, which included eight fours and two sixes. She should be credited for keeping the scoreboard ticking when Canterbury were reduced to 15/2 through initial mishaps, and she contributed crucial partnerships in the middle overs to get her team to a decent total.
However, in response, Otago’s opening order began the chase well but never got the rhythm, as Felicity Leydon-Davis and Caitlin Blakely contributed crucial 22 runs each. At 95 for three in the ninth over, things remained precariously poised, with Otago being in front of the game but needing just a serious momentum shift to stop things becoming congested at the end. That momentum shift came as soon as Laura Harris started striking the balls with passion and aggression.
Harris got the rhythm from the very beginning hitting the balls and then exploded into her innings hitting cleanly and uncompromisingly down the ground and over midwicket. She struck six fours and four sixes, regularly picking the length well and hitting hard through the line, and converting good deliveries into scoring shots and anything that was a fraction of a second overpitched into boundaries.
The momentum was so fierce that Otago accelerated from 95 for 3 to a win with 31 balls to spare, with Harris contributing heavily to this, as she increased her strike rate to a staggering 305.88. The blitz scored 50 off just 15 balls equalized Marie Kelly’s effort for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire in 2022.
Laura Harris has also blasted three 18-ball fifties and one in 19 balls in T20s, on top of her 15 and 17 ball efforts. Taken together, all six of her 50 plus scores in the format have come in under 20 deliveries, a feat no other woman has managed more than once.
The 35-year-old right-handed batter whose career is defined by fearless power and energetic off breaks, this innings was a reminder of the ability to blend experience and explosiveness in the world of cricket. In a tournament in which early narratives are so important, Harris has announced her arrival and importance.
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