Less than two months after her 15th birthday, Caoimhe Bray had an impressive debut for the Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League.
Bray was the goalkeeper of the Australian national football side at the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asia Cup in Indonesia.
The last Australian summer, had topped the runs chart at the New South Wales Under-18 Brewer Shield. In all, she hit 955 runs with four hundreds, including a 134-ball 202 in the final to help the Greater Hunter Central Coast to win their maiden title.
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In September 2024 – the month she turned 15 – Bray was picked for the Australia Under-19s. She responded with a 76-ball 84 and 4-20 to help her side beat New Zealand Under-19s. At the T20 Spring Challenge, she clean bowled Laura Harris with her second ball against Brisbane Heat.
She earned a call-up with the Sydney Sixers. On October 27, she debuted at the WBBL. At 15 years 34 days, she became the youngest to play in the format, breaking Annabel Sutherland’s eight-year-old record of 15 years 76 days.
Bray bowled a solitary over in the game, against the Melbourne Renegades. Deandra Dottin hit her first three balls for a six and two fours, but Bray came back well to york her with a beautiful delivery with the last ball of the over. She finished her spell with 1-0-15-1 and the Renegades on 178-8.
Captain Ellyse Perry then kept the chase in control with a 38-ball 81. When Perry fell, the Sixers needed 58 in 47 balls with seven wickets in hand, but a flurry of wickets reduced them to 147-7. Bray joined Sarah Bryce at this point, and put away the second ball she faced, from Alice Capsey, for four. Bryce hit four fours in Linsey Smith’s next over to bring the target down to 10 in 12 balls.
Bray began the next over, bowled by Sophie Molineux, with a three. The Sixers still needed four when she got the strike back for the last ball, which she promptly put away to the boundary to cap off a memorable debut.
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