Brisbane Heat 174 for 5 (Bryant 72, Renshaw 48*, Ferguson 2-21) beat Sydney Thunder 173 for 8 (Warner 50, Christian 23*, Johnson 3-39, Neser 2-25) by five wickets
Chasing 174 at the Gabba, Heat were in big trouble at 43 for 3 before Bryant and Renshaw combined for a belligerent 108-run partnership to turn the match on its head. Bryant smashed 72 off 35 balls, while Renshaw whacked 48 not out off 33 balls as Heat reached the target with seven balls to spare.
It was a vital win for Heat, who reignited their title defence and moved to a 3-3 (one no result) record. After their attack fell apart in the backend of Heat’s innings, with quick Wes Agar suffering the brunt with 1 for 61 from 3.5 overs, the shorthanded Thunder (4-2) missed their chance to claim the top spot on the BBL ladder.
Renshaw, Bryant turn match on its head
Heat’s top-order struggles reared again and their hopes of victory looked forlorn at 53 for 3 after ten overs. The required run rate ballooned to over 12 an over as Bryant and Renshaw were forced to take the power surge earlier than Heat would have hoped.
It worked as a treat with Renshaw setting the tone by whacking Agar -for consecutive boundaries in the 11th over, which yielded 20 runs. Heat plundered 32 runs in the power surge and their momentum continued with Bryant and Renshaw trading massive blows.
Renshaw showcased his improved power game against spin with a huge six off Tom Andrews that sailed over deep midwicket. They smashed 72 runs in just five overs, as Bryant raced past Renshaw to reach his half-century off 26 balls.
Bryant fell in the 17th over, but Renshaw ensured Heat held their nerve at the death.
Christian contributes with bat and ball
The 41-year-old Christian had not played a professional cricket match since BBL 12 and had spent the past two seasons as Thunder’s assistant coach. But he had to answer an urgent call for Thunder after injuries to Daniel Sams and Cameron Bancroft following their horror collision in the field against Perth Scorchers.
Neser returns in style
After being on the sidelines for almost two months, he was raring to go and opened the bowling along with Bartlett, ahead of left-arm quick Spencer Johnson who was held back until the seventh over. Neser’s new ball prowess came to the fore in the third over when he dismissed Ollie Davies, who could only inside-edge an attempted ramp shot. It was a tame end for Davies, elevated to open in the absence of Bancroft.
Neser returned and claimed the vital wicket of Sam Billings in the ninth over. He dug in a short-of-good-length delivery that Billings charged at but could only sky high in the air for Tom Alsop to complete an easy catch with the gloves. Neser finished with 2 for 25 from four overs and later hit the winning run.
Warner fires again
Warner batted in mostly orthodox fashion in the powerplay and was determined to be Thunder’s anchor as they lost consistent wickets. He made his move in the sixth over against legspinner Mitchell Swepson, sweeping him to the boundary on the first delivery before reverse-sweeping the next ball for another four.
Warner’s placement was a feature as underlined by drilling a cover boundary off Johnson to bring up his half-century. But he was clean bowled on the next ball after unsuccessfully reverse sweeping a Johnson yorker. Thunder appeared set to fall well short of a strong total until Christian’s late flurry.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
