The Brisbane Heat beat the Sydney Thunder in the final over at The Gabba last night to make it two wins from three to start BBL07. Here are my five main takeaways.
1. Heat scramble home in rain-affected game
A late cameo from Alex Ross helped the Heat scramble over the line with a ball to spare against the Sydney Thunder.
The match was reduced to a 17-over affair after an early rain delay, with the Heat managing to overcome the target of 151 in 17 overs for the loss of four wickets.
Ross’s 26 not out from nine balls, combined with Joe Burns’ 51 not out, edged the Heat over the line after requiring 40 from 23 balls when the pair got together.
Earlier in the night, Shane Watson continued his imperious form, belting 56 from 34 balls to help propel his side towards a competitive score.
The win gives the Heat two victories from their opening three games, while the Thunder have dropped two straight since their opening night victory over the Sixers.
2. Burns does it again
Burns has been one of the most underrated contributors in the BBL in the past 12 months as he propelled the Heat to another win with a crucial middle order contribution.
The Queenslander once again batted intelligently, using the vast expanses of the long side of the field to scramble for twos, while also being able to clear the ropes with some lusty blows by staying deep in his crease.
Burns has a very tidy record with the Heat considering he often comes in with less then ten overs to go, meaning his average will naturally suffer. Yet, he averages 28 from 50 T20 games, and while his strike rate of 123 isn’t dynamic, it is more than good enough for a team containing the likes of Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn and Ben Cutting.
3. Lack of batting depth limits Thunder
This was a much improved batting display from the Thunder compared to their opening two games against the Sixers and Strikers. Jos Buttler looked better without fully getting going, while Callum Ferguson makes a big difference to the class of their middle order coming in at four.
Initially I was a bit critical of Ferguson, given he only scored 13 from his first 13 balls in a rain reduced game. However, it’s clear the Thunder have limitations in their order.
With Arjun Nair coming in at six the Thunder cannot afford to be as gung-ho as sides like the Heat or Stars who possess batsmen far greater depth.
Ferguson finished with 37 from 26 balls, while Ben Rohrer chipped in with a handy innings towards the end to propel them to a respectable score of 4/149 from their 17 overs.
The Thunder’s batting powerplay remains a problem, with the side only averaging six runs per over in the early overs.
4. LynnSanity back in action
While his innings might have been fleeting, his 25 from nine balls changed the momentum of the game after the early dismissal of McCullum.
Lynn didn’t afford himself any sighters in his return from injury, crashing his first ball over cover for four before picking up a pull shot and depositing it for another maximum from just his third ball.
The big-hitter has a pretty simple technique in that he stays back in his crease and stays leg side of the ball in order to get as much leverage as possible to get under the ball. He has said he finds it easier to hit sixes than fours, and that comes across in his technique.
Lynn still looked very ginger in the field as he returns from shoulder surgery, and will need more than a few nice 20s to convince Australian selectors he should a part of the 50-over series against England starting on 14 January.
5. Rohrer blow a scary sight
I hate to say it, but it’s only a matter of time before a bowler, umpire, or as was the case with Ben Rohrer, a non-striking batsman, cops a serious injury from a returning missile.
Ferguson’s flat-batted smash cannoned into Rohrer, and the result could have been far, far worse than a bruised collarbone. With the size of the bats these days, and the force these modern day batsman hit, it could lead to a catastrophic injury.
All umpires should be wearing helmets these days. Fast bowlers obviously can’t wear helmets, however I worry about some of them given their long follow-through and the fact their heads come up just in time to see a ball careering towards them.
Cricket NSW made it mandatory for all their coaches to wear helmets when giving throw downs to NSW players this season, in a growing sign of how hard these balls are travelling back towards their destination.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
Scorchers had Agar at #6 two nights ago. I wouldn't rate him any higher than Cutting in T20. Not a top 6 batsman
Paul D
Roar Guru
Ethnicity, clearly. Re: Fekete - he was in the test squad in 2015, believe it or not! And yeah, a career econ of 10.24 and a strike rate of worse than every 4 overs is very ordinary. On average he goes 4 overs 0/41, 8 overs 1/82. Not much of a CV.
Brissie Boy
Guest
Arjun Nair - "brash young subcontinental player" - not sure whether you're referring to ethnicity or nationality there Paul, because he's definitely a born and raised New South Welshman. Knew we had the game won when Fekete came on to bowl. He was pretty terrible during his time at the Heat and it looks like he hasn't improved at all. Must have some pretty good connections otherwise I can't see how he can possibly maintain a BBL career with an economy-rate on the plus side of 10.
Brissie Boy
Guest
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
Scorchers have Inglis at 8,Johnson at 11.Tye and Richardson are their only non-batsmen
Bunney
Roar Rookie
Eddie, not sure you can talk about the Heat when you talk about batting deep. The Heat have an excellent top 5, but below that, it's bowlers. Cutting can hit a long ball, but he's no # 6. That is better than the Thunder, who have an excellent top 4, then fluff. But that is a trend in the BBL this year - having more specialist bowlers, and less part-timers bowling. This makes the batting line-ups shallower. The Renegades and the Strikers are the only teams to truly bat deep IMO. The rest rely on their top order to score, and 6 competent bowlers to restrict.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
I am shocked they let Wildermuth go. It might be good for Jack to get out and experience something other than Qld cricket, but it isn't good for the Heat!
Bunney
Roar Rookie
As a Heat fan, who suffered a couple of years back watching Fekete getting belted, I was quite confident when he was picked to bowl the last over! Can't believe he kept Sandhu out of the team!
Paul D
Roar Guru
Really enjoyed the game last night, was a great contest, rain affected just enough to make it even more frenetic without really diminishing from the spectacle. Ferguson did bat very well – he’s got great arm speed and eye. Had just peeled off a bunch of crisp boundaries before he almost decapitated poor old Rohrer down the other end. There will be a bowler who gets cleaned up badly in the BBL eventually, it’s already happened in baseball a bunch of times. Will deal with that when it happens I guess. Speaking of Rohrer, you don’t think Nair was annoyed Rohrer called him through for the wide? He desperately wanted a chance to bat! You could see it. Great showman that guy, has all the bling and ego you’d expect from a brash young subcontinental player but backs it up, bowled well, and a good fielder, there was a great stop off his own bowling where he was quick enough to get the sole of his boot in front of it from side on, rather than just stamping his foot down and risking wearing it on the ankle. That’s the sign of incredible reflexes, it wasn’t going slow. Andrew Symonds will be the Qld equivalent of Bill Lawry commentating boxing day by the time he retires if he keeps going the way he is on heat games. Great to listen to, has great insight but doesn’t get distracted by getting too anecdotal or trivial either. Adroitly picked up on Swepson changing his approach to try and contain the batsman rather than tossing it up & getting him out caught after his field let him down, and had a lot of other good comments. He’s brilliant. Great choice by 10 to have him in for Gabba games. Burns was brilliant. Those twos he kept picking off reminded me of Michael Bevan. Great placement. Ross also fantastic, gee he has good arm speed when he swings that bat of his. No idea why they went to Fekete with 1 over to go given he’d only bowled one all game. I know Watto doesn’t want to hog it but that looked like poor sums. Burns was far too good for him. Not sure why Watto didn’t plug the gap on midwicket either when Burns had 3 off 3 to go, he’d just had a big heave and missed due to extreme tiredness, Ross spoke to him, everyone in the ground knew he was just going to drop one into the acres of space on the leg side and take off and let Ross finish it. Guess Watto figured it was game over by that stage. Some bad judgment in the outer by a lot of fielders, I suspect the lighting isn’t all that at the Gabba compared to other grounds which would be part of the issue. Great crowd but, the Gabba can still make some noise when it’s full!
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Really wish the Heat invested in a good medium pacer or at least kept Wildermuth. They are so close to be a huge contender. A very solid Top 5 in Peirson, Baz, Lynnsanity, Burns & Ross. Just need that class bowler. I'm still hopeful they can win it all.