Bryant, Bartlett pull off stunning Heat win over Stars
Joel Gould |
Brisbane Heat duo Max Bryant and Xavier Bartlett added 66 off 25 balls to pull off a remarkable four-wicket BBL win over the previously undefeated Melbourne Stars.
Bryant, who walloped an unbeaten 48 off 26 balls at the Gabba on Friday night, should have been out when he was on two. He edged a Peter Siddle delivery, as replays revealed later, but the Stars failed to review despite a half-hearted appeal by wicketkeeper Sam Harper.
Bryant took 16 off Siddle’s final over to reduce the target to 27 off 12 balls.
Allrounder Bartlett smote 21 off nine balls. He had earlier blasted an effortless straight six and then a four off legspinner Mitch Swepson to put life into the chase.
He unleashed in the penultimate over from Tom Curran, before Bryant cut a huge six.
The Heat needed 10 off the last over bowled by Haris Rauf, and Bryant launched a six off the third ball to level the scores, then a boundary to win it with two deliveries to spare.
“It is pretty cool in your home stadium in front of a packed house,” Bryant said.
“We knew we were only two or three sixes away to catching up, and luckily it came off.
“I did nick one there early on in my innings. Luckily they didn’t review it.”
The win took the Heat to six points and into fourth position.
Stars debutant Blake Macdonald (37no off 12) and Hilton Cartwright (26no off 20) added 58 off just 22 balls at the end of their innings to lift the visitors to 6-195.
The loss of captain Nathan McSweeney (43) and the BBL’s leading run-scorer Matt Renshaw (41) appeared to cruel the Heat just when they were looking comfortable in the chase.
The 41-year-old Siddle became the competition’s joint leading wicket-taker with 10 and should have had 11 but for the Bryant blunder.
McSweeney was playing his first game since sustaining an ankle injury in the Heat’s opening match of the season.
His drives, flicks and pulls through and over the leg side were a highlight, but one false shot against Siddle brought about his downfall.
A wrong’un by Swepson undid Renshaw in a double-wicket over by the crafty legspinner that appeared to prove decisive until Bryant and Bartlett’s heroics.
The Stars were sent in and made a cracking start to be 0-47 at the end of the powerplay.
Impressive rookie Heat quick Tom Balkin dismissed Harper (37 off 23) to claw back momentum.
The introduction of spinner Matt Kuhnemann slowed the run rate, before part-time tweaker Renshaw cleaned up opener Tom Rogers.
Kuhnemann, in the wake of his selection in Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, was easily the best of the bowlers, with his 1-22 showcasing all the subtleties of his craft.
Stars captain Marcus Stoinis fell for 43, but it was a subdued knock compared with some of his more rampaging innings.
The Heat were superb in the power surge to claim 2-9, with Bartlett and 19-year-old Oli Patterson both snaring wickets.
AAP
