Melbourne Stars young gun Tess Flintoff has shattered the WBBL record for fastest fifty, reaching the milestone in just 16 deliveries.
Tess Flintoff : Fastest fifty | WBBL 2022 | New record
Tess Flintoff is an Australian cricketer who plays for Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) and the Melbourne Stars in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name |
Tess Flintoff
|
| Born | 31 March 2003 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Right-arm medium |
| Role | All-rounder |
An all-rounder, she bats right-handed and bowls right-arm medium pace.
In 2015, Flintoff was named in Cricket Australia’s under-15 Talent Squad and in 2020 she was selected to play for Australia’s under-19 team for a planned tour to South Africa.
In January 2022, Flintoff was named in Australia’s A squad for their series against England A, with the matches being played alongside the Women’s Ashes.
Tess Flintoff Fastest fifty
Melbourne Stars teenager Tess Flintoff has smashed the fastest 50 in WBBL history.
The all-rounder blasted an unbeaten 51 from only 16 balls in the Stars’ match against Adelaide on Wednesday.
Flintoff broke the previous mark of 22 balls by smashing a six off the final ball of the innings to push the Stars to 5-186 at North Sydney Oval.
The 19-year-old’s blistering knock consisted of six fours and three sixes.
Flintoff had not been required to bat in the Stars’ past three matches, but her most recent innings was an unbeaten 40 against Perth on October 20.
Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner and South African Lizelle Lee shared the previous record for fastest WBBL 50, with both reaching the mark in the same game back in 2017.
Flintoff’s 16-ball effort would also place her in a tie for third for fastest half-century across both the men’s and women’s Big Bash competitions.
Her knock came after both Lauren Winfield-Hill (47) and Alice Capsey (49) fell just short of half-centuries of their own.
WBBL 2022
Teenager Tess Flintoff has smashed the fastest fifty in Women’s Big Bash League history with a 16-ball effort for Melbourne Stars against Adelaide Strikers.
The 19-year-old beat the previous record of 22 balls, which had been set by fellow Australian Ashleigh Gardner and South Africa’s Lizelle Lee during the 2017-18 competition.
Flintoff’s innings is believed to be the second-fastest recorded fifty in women’s T20 cricket, after Marie Kelly’s 15-ball half-century for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire in May of this year.
Flintoff finished unbeaten on 51 from 16 deliveries against Strikers, after England pair Lauren Winfield-Hill (47 off 49) and Alice Capsey (49 from 31) had starred in a team total of 186-5.
Strikers made only 164-8 in reply with Flintoff adding to her special day by taking a wicket and a catch and fellow teenager Capsey dismissing Bridget Patterson for 41.
Tess Flintoff new record
We saw plenty of brutal knocks by Andrew Flintoff during his incredible career, but the Englishman can’t hold a light to what Tess Flintoff did for the Melbourne Stars on Wednesday afternoon.
Facing a strong Strikers attack, the big-hitting all-rounder went ballistic at North Sydney Oval to smash the fastest 50 in WBBL history off just 16 deliveries to propel the struggling Stars to 5/186.
Flintoff, who is no relation to the England great, entered the match having scored 49 runs from three previous at bats this season, while she’d only ever hit one six in 45 WBBL matches.
But she shattered those numbers at the picturesque venue, blasting three sixes and six boundaries to reach 50 on the final delivery when she whacked a Megan Schutt full toss over long on.
Flintoff’s 16-ball knock is six balls faster than Ash Gardner’s previous record, while her innings also set the record for highest strike rate in a WBBL innings at 318.75.
It comes just over a week after Marcus Stoinis belted the fastest ever T20 50 for Australia, which came off 17 balls.
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