Brisbane Heat teenager Lucy Hamilton has reaped the ultimate reward for skipping schoolies' week, becoming the youngest player to take a five-wicket haul in the WBBL in her side's crucial win over the Melbourne Stars..
Hamilton claimed the equal-second best figures in the competition's 10-year history on Sunday, with her 5-8 helping the Heat bowl the Stars out for 138 at Drummoyne Oval.
Brisbane's batters made light work of the chase, with Jemimah Rodrigues (45) and Charlie Knott (35no) leading the Heat to the target with 15 balls to spare.
The Heat's third straight win returned them to third on the ladder, while the Stars' season is now almost over with one win from seven matches.
But it was Hamilton who enjoyed the biggest party, while her school friends from Bundaberg had another kind on the Gold Coast.
The 18-year-old claimed her first WBBL wicket, removed Meg Lanning and took the first five-wicket haul by a Heat player all in the space of an hour on Sunday.
In so doing, she wrote herself into the WBBL's record books on the biggest day of her career so far.
"All my mates are at schoolies at the moment, on the Goldy living it up," said Hamilton, adding she couldn't believe what had just happened.
"Going out there today I was just trying to back myself.
"Getting my first wicket and getting 5-fa, all the girls were getting around me. It was really exciting.
"I've had to be patient, played a few games, and it finally came and was really thrilling."
After Annabel Sutherland got out of the blocks fast with 21, the left-armer bowled both her and Yastika Bhatia in her first over.
She also had superstar Lanning caught behind for 13 edging a wide half volley, before having danger woman Tess Flintoff caught at mid-off and Deepti Sharma lbw.
Hamilton's figures sit second only to Megan Schutt's 6-19 in the competition's history, and level with Amanda-Jade Wellington's two returns of 5-8.
Part of Australia's under-19s side, Hamilton will finally move to Brisbane in the coming months after routinely making the five-hour commute down from Bundaberg.
"I was talking to my bowling coach the other day, and it's now about working on standing the seam up and just backing myself to swing the ball back in," Hamilton said.
"Progressive training will help that, but it's having the confidence to be able to do that."
In the second game of Sunday's double header, the Sydney Thunder stayed top of the table after being saved by the rain and storms against cross-city rivals the Sixers.
Only Georgia Voll exceeded 20 as the Thunder were all out for 121, with Amelia Kerr spinning through the ladder leaders with 3-16 from her four overs.
The Sixers were then 1-9 after two overs when the rain hit, needing to be 1-27 after five overs to take victory.
That leaves the Sixers needing something of a miracle to reach the finals, with Alyssa Healy to also miss the last two games with a knee injury.
