Heat first to book finals spot in BBL06

The scorecard: Brisbane Heat 3-139 (Ross 46*, Gulbis 1-8) beat Melbourne Stars 7-138 (Wright 60*, Swepson 2-14) by seven wickets with 11 balls to spare

The match in a tweet: Heat overcome the absence of Bash Brothers and Badree to move to the top of the #BBL06 ladder with big win over the Stars

Swepson stars: Emerging leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson continues to turn heads. After being selected in Australia’s Test squad for the tour of India, starting next month, the 23-year-old celebrated with an impressive haul of 2-14 from four overs for the Heat. He removed Seb Gotch and Marcus Stoinis, boosting his tally for BBL|06 to 11 wickets, with the dismissal of Stoinis leaving the home team teetering at 4-56. Swepson’s tidy spell marked the third match in a row he had bowled a four-over spell and the young gun also has claimed at least one wicket in each of his nine BBL appearances. “That says straight away how dominant he’s been,” former Australia captain Ricky Ponting observed on Channel 10. Swepson collected the man of the match award and said he was “surprised, very shocked” with his promotion to the Test squad.

Super Steketee: Paceman Mark Steketee has been a consistent performer for the Brisbane Heat during BBL|06. Tonight he wasted no time making an impact, removing the Stars’ leading two runs-scorers entering this fixture – Rob Quiney and Kevin Pietersen – with consecutive deliveries in the first over of the match. Steketee started with a wide before reducing the Stars to 2.1 from two balls. The 23-year-old, who has 11 wickets in BBL|06, finished with 2-20 from four overs and sent down 12 dot balls in a display which proved telling in the wash up.

The partnership: With three overs remaining and 22 runs needed, the general consensus was the Heat still had a bit of work to do. However, stand-in skipper Joe Burns was quick to ease any nerves in his team’s camp, smacking Ben Hilfenhaus for two sixes and a four off the opening three balls of the over to all-but secure victory. Burns, who batted at No.5, finished with 42 from 32 balls, while Alex Ross – who was recruited from the Adelaide Strikers – made 46 from 40. The pair combined for an unbroken 74-run stand after Brisbane had slipped to 3-65. With Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn absent, it also proved the Heat remain a formidable side without the Bash Brothers.

Wright stuff:  By Luke Wright’s standards, he crawled to a hard-fought half-century. But with wickets tumbling around him and the Heat’s bowlers displaying plenty of discipline, it was an admirable performance from the Englishman, who finished with 60 not out from 55 balls and carried his bat. The fact Wright, who boasts a strike rate of more than 145 in Twenty20 matches, hit three fours and two sixes in 20 overs at the crease tells you things were far from easy for the hard-hitting opener. Seb Gotch reached 30 and skipper David Hussey 29, but no other Stars player managed double figures in an innings where they struggled to gather momentum.

Double blow: Maybe they were due to fail, but it was a shock to see two of the Stars’ blue-chip batsmen, Pietersen and Quiney, depart in consecutive balls. They both failed to trouble the scorers and both fell to up-and-coming paceman Steketee. Quiney had produced scores of 75, 51, 31 and 35 in BBL|06, while the ever-consistent Pietersen had contributed 15, 60, 73, 32 and 44 not out. While they may not have fired tonight, expect the pair to play a significant role in the Stars’ coming games as they chase an elusive BBL title.

Heazlett’s big hit: He made 39 from only 27 balls in only his second appearance of BBL|06 and played a key role in the Heat’s successful run chase, but Sam Heazlett’s massive six of Marcus Stoinis left the crowd mesmerised. Given the size of the MCG, the left-hander’s blow was simply massive. The opener finished with two sixes and a boundary and kick-started his team’s charge.

Blow for Jack: Brisbane Heat's Jack Wildermuth was removed from the attack after sending down two no balls above the waist during the 18th over of Melbourne Stars’ innings. Wildermuth’s first illegal delivery of the over sailed just above Luke Wright’s waist, but two balls later one went flying at the Stars’ opener’s head. Of course, Wildermuth meant no malice and later offered an apology. He finished with 1-32 from 3.5 overs.

The wide: Heat paceman Ben Cutting sent down this wild delivery in the final over of the Stars’ innings. Bowling around the wicket, the right-armer almost missed the pitch, leaving his teammates to put in some desperate dives to limit the damage.

The wash-up: The Heat are now sitting pretty in top position following their win over the Stars in the top-of-the-table encounter. The Heat will round out their regular-season campaign against the Melbourne Renegades on Friday, while the second-placed Stars will look to rebound against the Sydney Sixers on Saturday. They will need victory in that match at the MCG to rubberstamp a finals berth, the defeat leaving them equal on points with the Sixers and perennial contender Perth Scorchers.

 

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