Peirson still adjusting to captaincy challenges

Jimmy Peirson has admitted he underestimated the demands of taking on the Brisbane Heat captaincy full time, and has put more pressure on himself to lead from the front with the bat. 

Pierson hopes his side's win over the Adelaide Strikers last Thursday can be the catalyst for a run towards finals ahead of fixtures against the Melbourne Stars tonight and the Sydney Sixers on Wednesday.

Despite his brilliant form at domestic level to start the 2021-22 season and a leading role with the bat for the Heat in BBL|10, Peirson has managed just 15 runs in his four innings this KFC BBL campaign, and said he had failed to realise just how impactful the role of captain would be on his own game.

"It's (the captaincy) certainly got a lot more things that come with it," Peirson said.

"I probably underestimated the amount of pressure I put on myself.

"Last year I sort of fluked it when I was the caretaker and Lynny (Chris Lynn) was always coming back."

While no fluke, Peirson was alluding to a BBL|10 campaign where he scored 324 runs at an average of almost 50, adding that having the captaincy this year had made him even more determined to replicate that form.

"I do feel more pressure, I want to lead from the front, I really want to make sure my skills are adding to the bucket and want to make sure (the team is) getting the performances we desire from the captain.

"I'm certainly wanting to make sure that I'm making my imprint on the game, I probably haven’t done that as yet or as I would've liked with the bat.

"Now that I've taken it on full time, I do personally feel a bit more pressure to want to lead from the front."

With a rematch against former Heat teammate Joe Burns looming against the Stars, the Heat skipper said he was looking to contribute strongly from a personal point of view and was thankful for the experience around him to help lead the way.

"Against these good sides, If I can lead from the front and upset a couple of these big teams with the Stars and the Sixers coming up, that'd be really cool," Peirson said.

"Some guys are giving me a hand and helping with the load a little bit … (such as) Benny Duckett, and I've used Lynny plenty of times as well and Mark Steketee when he came back into the group.

"I'm really enjoying leading the guys around, I've got some great brains around me that I've certainly leaned on."

The Heat currently sit fifth on the BBL|11 table and desperately needed the away victory in Adelaide, now holding two wins and three losses for the season. 

"A lot of positives came out of our game in Adelaide. I'm really pleased with our batters and the performance they put on the board," Peirson said. 

"We were under the pump, so for our guys to come out and put that on, that was really pleasing.

"I really want our guys to make sure we use that momentum from that game and continue that into these next few rounds."