In a heart-stopping finish at the Gabba, the Brisbane Heat pulled off a stunning four-wicket victory against the previously undefeated Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League on Friday night. The win was sealed with two balls to spare, catapulting the Heat into fourth position on the ladder with six points.
Late-Order Heroics Steal the Show
The match turned on a blistering, unbroken partnership of 66 runs from just 25 balls between Max Bryant and Xavier Bartlett. With the Heat's chase of 196 looking precarious after the loss of key batters, the duo launched a breathtaking assault to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Bryant was the anchor, finishing on a superb 48 not out from 26 deliveries. His innings, however, could have ended early on. When on just two runs, he edged a Peter Siddle delivery, a fact later confirmed by replays. The Stars failed to review the decision after only a half-hearted appeal from wicketkeeper Sam Harper, a moment that would prove costly.
"(I heard) absolutely nothing," Harper told Channel 7 after the match. "Don't tell me he's nicked it. I'm going deaf." Bryant later admitted, "I did nick one there early on in my innings. Luckily they didn't review it."
A Frenetic Finish at the Gabba
The climax was pure drama. Bryant took 16 runs from Siddle's final over to reduce the equation to 27 needed from 12 balls. Allrounder Bartlett then unleashed, smashing 21 runs from only nine balls. He blasted a effortless straight six off legspinner Mitch Swepson before targeting the penultimate over from Tom Curran.
Needing 10 from the final over, bowled by Haris Rauf, Bryant launched a huge six off the third ball to level the scores. He then carved a boundary to win the game, sending the packed Gabba crowd into raptures. "It is pretty cool in your home stadium in front of a packed house," a thrilled Bryant said. "We knew we were only two or three sixes away to catching up, and luckily it came off."
Stars' Power Finish in Vain
Earlier, the Melbourne Stars had posted a formidable 6-195 from their 20 overs, thanks to a spectacular finish from their own lower order. Debutant Blake Macdonald (37 not out off 12 balls) and Hilton Cartwright (26 not out off 20) plundered 58 runs from just 22 balls to give the visitors a strong total.
For the Heat, the chase was built on starts from captain Nathan McSweeney (43) in his return from an ankle injury and the BBL's leading run-scorer Matt Renshaw (41). Their dismissals in quick succession, with Renshaw falling to a Swepson wrong'un, seemed to have swung the game decisively towards the Stars until Bryant and Bartlett's intervention.
Bowling highlights included:
- Heat spinner Matt Kuhnemann, fresh from his T20 World Cup squad selection, was superb with 1-22.
- Veteran Peter Siddle became the competition's joint-leading wicket-taker with 10, though he should have had 11.
- The Heat were excellent in the power surge, conceding only 2-9.
The loss is the first of the tournament for the Melbourne Stars, while the Brisbane Heat have reignited their campaign with a memorable, against-the-odds victory on home soil.
