Australia’s Laura Harris hit the joint-fastest fifty in women’s T20s on Sunday as she achieved the milestone in just 15 balls while batting for Otago Sparks against Canterbury the Women’s Super Smash match at Molyneux Park in Alexandra, New Zealand.

The 35-year-old Harris matched the record of England’s Marie Kelly, who also hit a 15-ball fifty for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire in 2022.

On her Sparks debut, right-handed batter Harris walked in to bat with her side at 46 for 2 in the sixth over.

She hit six fours and four sixes during her knock of 17-ball 52 as her side chased down the target of 146 with 31 balls and six wickets to spare.

Harris now has five half centuries and one ton in T20s.

As a result of her quickfire innings, Sparks became the first team to earn a bonus point in the tournament. Introduced this season, the rule awards a bonus point to a side if it scores 150 or more runs regardless of batting first or second, or achieves a run rate greater than 1.25 times that of the opposition in the second innings.