Ashleigh Gardner produced one of the defining innings of Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) history at Drummoyne Oval on 1 November 2026, smashing 124 off 60 balls against the defending champions Hobart Hurricanes. It is now the highest individual score by a captain in the tournament’s history, surpassing Rachel Priest’s unbeaten 107 from 2021, and it powered the Sydney Sixers to an 87-run win, their second-largest victory by runs in WBBL history, registering consecutive victories to kickstart their WBBL 12 campaign.
Ashleigh Gardner (Sydney Sixers): 124 off 60 vs Hobart Hurricanes (1 November 2026)
The Sydney Sixers arrived at Drummoyne Oval full of confidence after a last-ball, four-wicket chase of 155 against Brisbane Heat in their opener, though Gardner herself had made only 2 in that pursuit. Against Nicola Carey’s Hurricanes, Carey won the toss and chose to bowl, and the decision initially looked inspired: the Sixers collapsed to 4/2 in the second over and then 6 for 3 when Amelia Kerr fell for 1.
Gardner, joining Kerr before the recovery began, transformed the innings with extraordinary authority. Her 124 came from just 60 deliveries, featuring 10 fours and 9 sixes, while Alice Capsey’s unbeaten 54 from 40 balls provided the ideal foil. Their 176-run fourth-wicket partnership became the highest fourth-wicket stand in WBBL history and the second-highest partnership for any wicket in the competition.
The Sixers finished on 196 for 8, before Gardner’s off-spin delivered 3 for 23 from three overs as Hobart were bowled out for 109 in 17.4 overs. Named Player of the Match, Gardner moved to 126 runs at a strike rate of 196.87 in the young season, and now has 2,876 WBBL runs at 122.48, including two centuries.
Rachel Priest (Hobart Hurricanes): 107* off 68 vs Melbourne Stars (19 October 2021)
Before Gardner’s masterclass, the captaincy benchmark belonged to Rachel Priest. At Bellerive Oval in the seventh edition, the former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter opened for Hobart and crafted an unbeaten 107 from 68 balls against Meg Lanning’s Melbourne Stars.
Priest’s innings contained 10 boundaries and 7 sixes, anchored by a 54-run fourth-wicket stand with Nicola Carey and an unbroken 59-run fifth-wicket alliance with Naomi Stalenberg. Her knock carried the Hurricanes to 152 for 4, and their bowlers dismissed the Stars for 89 in 19.2 overs to secure a 63-run win. Priest was deservedly Player of the Match. Although Hobart finished sixth that season with five wins from 14 league games, Priest’s 262 runs at 103.96, including that century, remained a landmark captain’s innings until Gardner went beyond it.
Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers): 106 off 62 vs Brisbane Heat (9 November 2023)
Sophie Devine’s 106 from 62 balls against Brisbane Heat remains one of the most complete captaincy performances in WBBL history. At Allan Border Field, after Jess Jonassen put Perth in, Devine and Beth Mooney launched the innings with a 131-run opening stand; Mooney made 50 from 42 balls.
Devine then added 57 with Nat Sciver-Brunt as the Scorchers reached 192 for 3. Her innings, built around 14 fours and 4 sixes, set up a 39-run win after Brisbane were dismissed for 153 in 17.3 overs. Devine also took 2 for 33, earning Player of the Match honours. Perth finished second in the league stage that season with 16 points, though their campaign ended in the Challenger against Brisbane. Devine’s 489 runs at 140.92 made her the tournament’s fifth-highest scorer that year, underlining the scale of her influence.
Ellyse Perry (Sydney Sixers): 103* off 64 vs Brisbane Heat (22 December 2018)
Ellyse Perry’s unbeaten 103 from 64 balls against Brisbane Heat at the SCG was a captain’s century of classical control. Having won the toss and batted, Perry opened alongside Alyssa Healy and guided the Sixers to 166 for 3. She shared a 75-run second-wicket partnership with a young Ashleigh Gardner, who made 36, before adding 73 with Erin Burns. Perry struck 10 boundaries and 5 sixes, and the Sixers eventually defended their total by 11 runs as Brisbane closed on 155 for 7.
Ellyse Perry was Player of the Match in a season where she was utterly dominant: topping the run charts with 778 runs at an average of 86.44, with six fifties and two hundreds. The Sixers topped the league but lost the final to Brisbane Heat, while Perry’s career total of 5,162 WBBL runs remains second only to the Perth Scorchers wicket-keeper batter and new skipper Beth Mooney in the competition’s history.
Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers): 103 off 68 vs Sydney Sixers (8 November 2020)
Devine appears again with her 103 from 68 balls against the Sydney Sixers at Hurstville Oval in 2020. Winning the toss and batting first, she combined with Beth Mooney for a commanding 151-run opening partnership, with Mooney contributing 60 from 44 deliveries.
Sophie Devine’s century included 5 fours and 7 sixes as Perth posted 183 for 4. The Scorchers then restricted Sydney to 147 for 5, winning by 36 runs, with Devine named Player of the Match for an innings that blended power and control. Perth finished fourth that season with 14 points, before exiting in the first semi-final to Melbourne Stars. Devine’s 460 runs at 51.11 made her the third-highest scorer of that edition, and her overall WBBL tally of 4,253 runs places her third on the all-time list.
Ashleigh Gardner’s 124 now stands above all of them, not merely as a captain’s highest score, but as a statement of how destructive, match-shaping leadership can look in the WBBL as the most unpredictable 12th edition of the tournament takes shape.
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.