Watch: At the 2023/24 Women’s Big Bash League, Grace Harris’ bat snapped into two. The ball still went for six.

Opening batting in a WBBL match at the North Sydney Oval, Grace Harris of Brisbane Heat slammed 136 not out in 79 balls against the Perth Scorchers. This is now the highest score in WBBL history, eclipsing Smriti Mandhana’s 114 not out by some distance.

With three WBBL hundreds, Harris has now joined Sophie Devine. Only Alyssa Healy (five) has more centuries in the history of the competition.

Harris’ 11 sixes are also a new tournament record. She broke Ash Gardner’s previous best, of 10, back in 2017. One of these 11 shots, off Piepa Cleary in the 14th over, stood out.

At that point, Harris was batting on 64 from 26 balls. As Cleary ran in to bowl, Harris had probably realised that there was something wrong with her willow. The stump microphone caught her muttering “hey guys, I need a new bat.”

Despite that, she chose to continue (“stuff it, I’ll still hit it”) as she prepared to face the ball. Cleary bowled in the slot outside off stump, and as Harris swung the bat, the blade came off the handle and rolled towards short mid-wicket.

Such was Harris’ power, however, that the ball soared some distance over the leaping long-on fielder for six.

With Mignon du Preez making a 27-ball 39, Brisbane finished on 229-7, the second-highest score in WBBL history, after Sydney Sixers’ 242-4 in 2017.

With a 30-ball 60, Beth Mooney gave Perth an excellent start to their response before Courtney Grace Sippel (4-27) restricted them to 179-8. Harris dismissed Amy Jones.

Watch Grace Harris’ bat-breaking six:

EXTRAORDINARY!

Grace Harris had a broken bat, and this is how it played out:

"Hey guys, I need a new bat!"
"Stuff it, I'll still hit it!"

And then Harris hits it for SIX! #WBBL09 @SportsCenter #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/ZI9JUnAyyl

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) October 22, 2023

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