Knott's Maiden Ton Ends Brisbane Heat's 706-Day WBBL Drought

A century worth waiting 706 days for

Charli Knott played the innings of her life on Thursday, and Brisbane Heat finally had something to celebrate. Her maiden T20 hundred, a sparkling 104 from 61 balls, powered the Heat to 184 for four and set up a 14-run victory over Adelaide Strikers at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, ending a 706-day winless drought in the Women's Big Bash League.

It was the Heat's first win of the season, and it arrived after a 12-match losing run that had stretched back to the Challenger final in November 2024. Only four members of Thursday's side had been part of that last victorious team, and the emotion in the camp was plain to see once the final ball was bowled. Captain Georgia Redmayne summed up the mood in four words: "706 is my new favourite number."

Knott had waited a long time for a day like this. The Queenslander had starred on the recent Australia A tour of India, yet she averaged just 13 last summer and around 19 across her 70-game WBBL career before this match. On Thursday she looked like a different batter entirely, clubbing 12 fours and four sixes and reaching her hundred from 56 balls before being run out in the 18th over.

Knott carries the Heat innings

Asked to bat first, Brisbane made a brisk start as Knott and Grace Harris put on 57 for the opening wicket. Redmayne struggled to get going and fell for seven from 11 balls, but Knott made sure the scoring rate never suffered. She shared a 64-run stand for the third wicket with Yastika Bhatia, whose own strike rate stayed under 100, yet Knott's regular boundaries more than compensated for the slow batting around her.

Knott's hundred took her to the top of the Golden Bat leaderboard, and she kept finding the rope even as partners came and went. She was eventually run out in the 18th over, barbecued by Bhatia, and Bhatia followed her back to the pavilion in the next over. Late cameos from Orla Prendergast, unbeaten on 16 from six balls, and Annie O'Neil pushed the total to 184 for four. Sophie Ecclestone was the most economical of the Strikers bowlers, finishing with one for 18.

That total always looked competitive on a Drummoyne surface that offered the bowlers something, but Adelaide's chase had the firepower to threaten it. Laura Wolvaardt and Madeline Penna both made half-centuries, and for long stretches the Strikers looked capable of keeping their own unbeaten start to the season alive.

Wolvaardt and Penna keep Adelaide in it

Wolvaardt faced the bulk of the deliveries early in the chase. She scored all the runs in a 34-run opening stand with Maia Bouchier, who fell for a four-ball duck, and then added 30 in 31 balls with captain Tahlia McGrath, who managed only 13 from 16 deliveries. The Heat attack kept Wolvaardt in check through the middle overs, and the required rate began to climb.

The match turned when Penna joined Wolvaardt. The pair added 77 in quick time, and Penna's assault on the 14th over from Sianna Ginger, worth 27 runs, left Adelaide needing 56 from the last six overs. At that point the Strikers were firmly in the contest, with two set batters and wickets in hand.

Brisbane, though, refused to fold. The Heat took two wickets for 26 runs across the next five overs as the Strikers batters struggled to find the boundary, and spinner Sarah Glenn proved decisive. Glenn removed Wolvaardt for 75 from 48 balls and McGrath, finishing with two for 19, while Grace Harris matched her figures with two for 19 of her own.

Heat hold their nerve at the death

A tight penultimate over from Lucy Hamilton left Adelaide needing 30 from the final over, and although Penna struck two fours and a six, the target proved beyond the Strikers. They finished on 170 for five, with Penna unbeaten on 68 from 45 balls, and Brisbane's players embraced in the middle of the ground.

Knott's contribution did not end with the bat. She later sent down four overs of her own, capping a complete all-round performance on a day that belonged to her. Redmayne was full of praise for her match-winner afterwards. "Knotty was absolutely outstanding today, with the bat and the ball," the captain said. "There's a bit of emotion in the team. We're all very glad to get over that hurdle."

For Brisbane, the win changes the shape of their season. A 12-game losing streak can weigh on any side, and the Heat had carried that burden since November 2024. Knott's century did more than win a match: it gave a young side proof that its best cricket is good enough to beat anyone in the competition. Adelaide, meanwhile, will rue the middle overs, when a chase that had been kept alive by Wolvaardt and Penna stalled just as the finish line came into view.

The Heat will hope Thursday was the start of something rather than a one-off. On the evidence of Knott's innings, and a bowling effort that held its nerve when the game was on the line, they have every reason to believe it can be.