Craig Simmons: From Record-Breaker at Gordon to Big Bash Legend - Part 2
Gordon District Cricket Club | March 21, 2026
His breakthrough came during the 2013/14 season when he replaced the injured Liam Davis in the Perth Scorchers squad. What followed was nothing short of extraordinary. In his fourth game for the Scorchers, against Adelaide Strikers in mid-January 2014, Simmons demolished the bowling attack, reaching his century in just 39 balls - the fastest century in Big Bash League history, a record that would stand for 11 years until Mitchell Owen of the Hobart Hurricanes equalled it in the 2024-25 final. He finished with 102 runs from 41 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes.
But Simmons wasn't finished. In the semi-final against the Sydney Sixers, he produced another century, this time 112 runs from 58 balls, becoming the first player to score two centuries in Big Bash League matches. In that innings, he also equalled Chris Gayle's competition record of eleven sixes in a match. His strike rate of 176.51 runs per 100 balls stood as the best of any player who had faced over 125 balls in the competition.
The big-hitting left-hander subsequently signed with the Adelaide Strikers for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 BBL seasons, cementing his reputation as one of the most destructive batsmen in the shortest format.
From breaking Charlie Macartney's 92-year-old record at Gordon to rewriting the Big Bash record books, Craig Simmons carved out a unique career path. His three seasons in Gordon colours may have been brief, but they left an indelible mark on the club's history - and provided the foundation for a player who would go on to become one of Twenty20 cricket's most feared strikers.
*Note the Gordon record was later surpassed by Axel Cahlin and of course then by Tym Crawford who scored 1303 runs in the 2023/24 season.
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