December 31st, 2015, the annual New Year’s Eve Big Bash match at the Adelaide Oval between the Adelaide Strikers and the Sydney Sixers.

Batting first, the Sixers hit 176 off 20 overs, and with 3 overs to go the Strikers were in deep shit on 5/126 after Alex Ross went cheaply, but a young Travis Head, having turned 22 just 2 days prior to the game, regained the strike on 45 off 38 balls, facing Sean Abbott.

What followed in the next half-hour would prove to be the first of Travis Head’s epic series of match-winning innings, and remains one of the greatest innings in the history of the Big Bash League.

18th over, facing Abbott, 51 off 18 for victory:

17.1 = 4 runs straight back down the ground (5/130)

17.2: 6 runs over the midwicket boundary to bring up his half century off 40 balls (5/136)

17.3: 4 runs, sliced into the gap between point and third man (5/140)

17.4: 6 runs, smoked over deep midwicket again (5/146)

17.5: 6 runs, smashed over the deep square leg boundary (5/152)

17.6: Head takes the single to retain the strike, 27 off 6 balls, target now 24 off 12. (5/153)

‘The Rug’ Doug Bollinger on for the 19th over:

18.1: No run, almost a run-out at the bowler’s end after Rashid was stranded with Head mid-pitch

18.2: 2 runs (5/155)

18.3: 2 runs (5/157)

18.4: 6 runs, monster half-volley on the off side that nearly hit the dancing ladies in Row 30 (5/163)

18.5: No run

18.6: 1 run, Head could’ve run 2 but retained the strike, 11 runs off the over, 13 off 6 balls required with Head on 83 not out (5/164)

And now, Sean Abbott on to bowl the last over, and cop the most brutal 3-ball bashing ever seen in Australian cricket.

19.1: 6 runs, full ball on leg stump that Head smoked over deep midwicket to move to 89 (5/170)

19.2: 6 runs, shorter ball, much slower pace, but Head picked it up and once again smoked it over deep midwicket – That tied the scores and put Head on 95, with only one possible way to reach a memorable century (5/176)

19.3: 6 runs, shorter ball again, Head slapped it with enough power to clear the rope behind square leg, and 46,389 fans went ballistic as Travis Head finished the year 2015 on 101 not out off 53 balls, having hit 56 off the last 15 balls of the match, including 7 sixes off the last 14 balls, also bringing up the first century ever scored by an Adelaide Strikers player.

Adam Gilchrist provided the line on Channel 10 – It was a champagne moment on New Year’s Eve.

Some other random notes on those last 3 overs:

Adil Rashid deflected the last ball of the 16th over for 2 runs.. he finished not out, and it was the only ball he faced.

Before his 3rd over, Abbott had bowling figures of 2 overs, 1 wicket for 12 runs…. he finished on 1 for 57 off 3.3 overs.

Abbott conceding 27 runs off the 18th over remains in the Top 5 for the most expensive overs in Big Bash history, although the Big Bash record now stands at 31 off an over (Aaron Finch facing Andrew Tye in 2022-23, Daniel Sams facing Ollie Pope in 2024-25)

– 2015 will mark the 13th edition of the New Year’s Eve game hosted by the Adelaide Strikers – Head is still the only player to hit a century on New Year’s Eve, and no player has ever hit a Big Bash century on New Year’s Day.

– At the time of the match, Travis Head hadn’t debuted for Australia in international cricket – He would make his debut a few weeks later in a Twenty20 International against India at the Adelaide Oval on Australia Day, scoring 2 off 5 balls, then made his ODI debut against the West Indies in June 2016, with his Test debut waiting until October 2018.

– The Strikers and Sixers played each other again on New Year’s Eve in 2016 – Abbott had somewhat of a redemption with 5 for 16, including claiming Head for 7 off 8 balls to keep the Strikers to 9/150, but the Sixers were bundled out for 104 to lose the match, although Abbott was still named Player of the Match.

– Inclusive of the 2015 match, the Strikers won every New Year’s Eve Big Bash match between 2013 and 2018, but have lost every edition since then (2019 vs Thunder, 2020 vs Scorchers, 2021 vs Thunder, 2022 vs Thunder, 2023 vs Stars, 2024 vs Scorchers)