Litchfield, Laura Harris and Knight blaze away to continue Heat's drought

Sydney Thunder smashed their way to the highest WBBL score at the Drummoyne Oval as they continued Brisbane Heat's drought with a six-wicket win over the Queensland side.

Searching for a first victory in 12 games and 702 days stretching back to November 29, 2024, Heat eclipsed the previous best WBBL score of 171 at the Sydney venue, totalling an impressive 178 for 5. But Thunder made light of their largest ever run chase, reaching the target with 20 balls to spare.

Georgia Voll fell for 2, but Thunder's other power-hitters prospered against an attack which failed to execute under pressure and bowled too many loose deliveries.

Phoebe Litchfield (41 off 19 balls) provided the early spark with some scintillating strokes, and England veteran Heather Knight (54 not out off 29) paced the chase with a typically smart innings. Knight put on 63 with Anika Learoyd (37 off 28 deliveries), and 59 with Laura Harris (35 off 16), who was caught by her sister Grace Harris with three needed for victory.

Thunder made it two wins from as many games.

"To win at home is a key thing for us this year,'" Knight told Fox and Kayo. "It was a belter of a pitch. We've probably been used to it being a little bit more harder for batters. Delighted to contribute as well, and it's always a nice feeling to be not out at the end."

Earlier, Grace Harris (58 off 37 balls) and Georgia Redmayne (57 off 44) put on 99 for the second wicket, carrying Heat to 118 for 1 in the 14th over. Orla Prendergast (28 off 20) chipped in during the final overs, but Heat couldn't find an extra gear, with Thunder striking six more fours than the visitors.

"Their batters hit boundaries where we hit ones, so we've only got ourselves to blame," Grace Harris told Fox and Kayo. "These guys are a dynamic batting line-up, so they are going to put you under the pump and they are going to hit the ball, and hit hard."