The best Twenty20 (T20) spectacle in women’s cricket, the Women’s Big Bash League (W-BBL) in its 8th edition had in store Tess Flintoff teeing off against the Adelaide Strikers’ at such pace that she’s re-registered the record for the fastest fifty in the league. Below, we’ll run through the names of the top 5 players on the fastest-to-fifty list.
Tess Flintoff : 16-ball-51* (2022)
Playing in the Melbourne Stars’ green against the Adelaide Strikers’, Tess Flintoff walked in with the sides’ scorecard reading, 115/3 (15.2). Tess got off the mark with back-to-back boundaries and teed off as she soon bettered her boundaries shots, with a couple of maximums. A few boundaries helped her get to 45 and she then, off the last ball, topped her boundary shots with a maximum that saw her edge past her fifty (51*) off just 16 balls and in the process, scripted history with the fastest fifty in the W-BBL history.
Ashleigh Gardner : 22-ball-50* (2017)
Playing in the Sydney Sixers’ magenta against the Melbourne Stars’, Ashleigh Gardner walked in to bat at no.3 following Alyssa Healy’s (4) dismissal. Gardner got underway with a boundary off the first ball and in the next over gathered 22 runs having struck 4 boundaries and a maximum. She carried on the momentum and with a maximum got to her fifty off 22 balls. Ashleigh Gardner went on to get to her century off 47 balls and eventfully was dismissed on 114(52) at the end of the 14th over with 160 on board.
Tess Flintoff just surpassed Ashleigh Gardner’s previous record of the fastest fifty in WBBL🔥🔥
She smashed 51* in just 16 Balls. #CricketTwitter #WBBL08 pic.twitter.com/Dd37W4EoP3
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 2, 2022
Lizelle Lee : 22-ball-51* (2017)
Playing in the Melbourne Stars’ green against the Sydney Sixers’, Ashleigh Gardner’s fiery ton was followed by a Lizelle Lee special in the 2nd innings. Lee got her innings underway with a boundary and struck a maximum off the very next ball. She managed a couple more such sets of 10 off 2 and raced to 30 off 9. A bunch of boundaries and a maximum over the next few balls powered Lee to 47* off 19 and off the 22nd ball, struck a boundary and got to her blistering fifty. Her knock came to an end on 64(36) early in the 12th over with 93 on board.
Harmanpreet Kaur : 23-ball-50* (2018)
Playing in the Sydney Thunder’s lime green against the Brisbane Heat, Harmanpreet Kaur walked in to bat in the 11th over and got her innings underway with a boundary. She found boundaries in regular intervals and late in the 14th over with a maximum started to shift gears. She found more boundaries in quick succession and with a maximum raced to 49* off 22 balls. In the following over got a single off the last ball and got to her 50* off 23 balls and then struck a maximum off the first ball off the next over before being dismissed on 56(26).
Grace Harris : 23-ball-50* (2018)
Playing in the Brisbane Heat’s sky blue against the Melbourne Stars’, Grace Harris got her innings underway with a boundary and in the following over struck 4 successive boundaries. Over the next few balls, she gaped 4 to the fence and raced to 42*(21). In the final over of the powerplay, she struck successive boundaries and got to her fifty off 23 balls. She, post her fifty, struck back-to-back maximums and eventually went on to finish the game with a maximum in the 11th over that also, saw her celebrate her century (101*) off 42 balls.