Lalor adds new angle to Heat attack

Brisbane Heat have added the left-arm variety of Josh Lalor in a new-look bowling attack for the fifth season of the KFC Big Bash League.

Lalor joins from the Sydney Thunder and will link up with other new recruits in Australian Test tourist Andrew Fekete, West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree and Queensland Bulls stalwart Luke Feldman in a new-look pace attack.

The fresh faces join Heat regulars like Ben Cutting, who is bowling with increased pace and aggression in early season games for Queensland, plus James Hopes, Nick Buchanan and Jason Floros.

"I like the idea that it is a new look bowling group," Lalor said. "I'm sure we'll get together before the start of the season to develop our plans and strategies with the bowling coach Shane Bond, and hopefully come up with some good ideas to take into the tournament.

"One of the things I love about the Big Bash is the opportunity to move around and learn off guys like Shane and (coach) Dan Vettori who we wouldn't otherwise have exposure to on the domestic cricket scene."

Vettori, who switched from the Heat's playing ranks into coaching after last summer, said the left-arm angle from Lalor gave the club extra versatility.

"I think we've seen throughout the short history of the Big Bash League that teams with a solid mix of variety in their bowling attacks tend to have the most success," the former Black Caps international said.

"We were really looking for someone who could swing the new ball and contain batsmen at the end of an innings, and Josh certainly fits that mould. The fact he's a left-armer in a squad full of right-armed bowlers is an added bonus for us."

Lalor's cool hands on boundary line in BBL|04

Lalor hit the headlines last summer with the Thunder after his stunning boundary-line catch of Melbourne Stars skipper Cameron White, where he jumped the rope to complete a controversial but perfectly legal catch.

The catch caught many players and fans unawares of change to the Laws of cricket that made such boundary-leaping exploits legal, as long as the catch started and ended inside the field of play.

Quick Single: Maxwell's stunning catch born in the Big Bash

The lesson was learned by Stars player Glenn Maxwell, who had protested at Lalor's catch, but used the same rule to good effect during the recent one-day series against England.

Lalor will meet his former teammates on the field when the Heat host the Thunder on January 3 at the Gabba, just the second visit to the Queensland capital by the Sydney club in five seasons.