The Brisbane Heat were too good for the Melbourne Stars last night, winning by 15 runs at The Gabba. Here are my five main takeaways.
1. Heat open with a win
The Brisbane Heat overcame the late withdrawal of Chris Lynn to score an impressive 15-run victory over the Melbourne Stars last night. On another excellent Gabba pitch, the Heat racked up a massive 7/206 before restricting the Stars to 6/191, despite Marcus Stoinis belting the ball to all parts on his way to 99 from just 51 balls.
The Stars looked dead in the water at 4/53 in the seventh over, before an outstanding 137-run partnership between Stoinis and James Faulkner threatened to change the game.
Earlier in the night, the Heat had several contributors with the bat with Alex Ross (51) and Joe Burns (50) both scoring half-centuries in the middle order and combining for an 82-run fourth wicket partnership.
Brendon McCullum smashed 40 from 22 balls up front, while Ben Cutting bookended the innings with 35 from 18 balls against a Stars pace attack that offered far too many loose balls.
2. Stoinis back with a bang
If rumours are to be believed, Marcus Stoinis’ name was pencilled in for the first Test at the Gabba before his father’s passing. Stoinis missed the majority of the first two Shield games to be with his ill father and returned with a bang last night, with a classy and powerful innings when all looked lost for the Stars.
Stoinis has come a long way in the last 18 months with both his batting and bowling in white ball cricket on a steep upwards trajectory. On a night where the Stars’ seamers were dispatched to all parts, Stoinis claimed 3/38 from his four overs, before claiming man of the match honours with his 99.
What has impressed me most about Stoinis is the development of his all-round batting game. He has always had the power, however there is more subtlety and smarts to his batting. The way he manipulated the ball through the gaps and controlled the tempo of the innings was a sign of maturity and growing confidence in his own ability.
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3. The Duke has a night to forget
John Hastings won’t want to remember his debut as captain for the Stars as his side suffered a number of brain fades in the field. Four no-balls is four too many at this level, with free hits an open invitation to lose the momentum to your opponents.
Hastings made a few baffling moves on the night, including bowling first on a Gabba belter. Then James Faulkner bowled just the opening over of the game where he conceded only seven runs, and his best two bowlers were spinners Michael Beer and Adam Zampa, who combined for 2/25 from seven overs, yet Zampa did not bowl his fourth over.
To add further insult to Hastings, he was clubbed for 48 from three overs and was well below his cunning best, serving up a couple of rank full tosses.
4. Mic’d up McCullum shows his intent
Brendon McCullum loves his horses and is a gambler by nature. I love the way he captains his sides and instils faith in them to attack at all costs. He doesn’t chastise errors; he doesn’t try to just defend. He encourages his side to go hard with the bat for 20 overs, and look for wickets at all costs with the ball.
The ultra-attacking approach is no different to the one that earned McCullum so many plaudits when he was in charge of New Zealand. He is fearless, an extremely popular and likable guy, and allows his players freedom in the mind to express themselves.
Not all of his gung-ho tactics will pay off, but it’s refreshing to watch and he has clearly elevated this Brisbane Heat franchise since arriving last season.
(AAP Image/David Mariuz)
5. Khan shows potential on debut
There was a bit of hype about Brisbane Heat’s new Pakistani import Shadab Khan heading into his debut for the franchise last night. At just 19 years of age, Khan has burst onto the international scene over the past six months, debuting in all three forms of the game for his country.
Khan had a shaky start as he offered up a long hop first ball that was dispatched into the stands by Glenn Maxwell. While his overall figures of 2/41 off four are only moderate, he showed glimpses of his potential by clean bowling Luke Wright with one of his subtle variations.
Khan has an outstanding quicker ball not unlike the rocket Shahid Afridi used to disguise during his career.
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