Mighty Moises bounces back in style, twice

Since an opening day 76 not out to take his Sixers to a derby win over the Thunder, Moises Henriques hadn't passed 30 in seven innings. 

And given Henriques hadn't bowled until the final regular season fixture against the Stars, his impact on a match – some excellent captaincy aside – was less hands-on than what has come to be expected from such a consistent performer. 

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But all that recent history was bunk by the end of a dramatic Super Over victory against Brisbane Heat on Wednesday night, in which Henriques had played not one, but two captain's knocks to propel his team into Saturday's final against the Scorchers in Perth. 

First up came a rapid 64 from 34 deliveries, in which Henriques timed the ball beautifully and struck boundaries almost at will. 

His 50 came up from 24 balls and as he continued to find and clear the rope, most of the 35,116 fans on hand thought the contest was over well before it proved to be. 

But when he fell and the collapse ensued, Henriques took it upon himself to go in first in the Super Over. 

There, in a cauldron of pressure and tension, he led his side to a near unreachable total of 22. 

"It's a tough game, T20 cricket, to be continually on top of your game," Henriques said as he reflected on his lean run and the turnaround in fortunes against the Heat. 

"You need a little bit of luck somewhere along the line, because you're obviously going after it and you have to take risks. 

"Luckily I got a couple of bad balls, a couple of half-trackers early in my innings that I could get away and get started. 

"It helps your chase if you can keep the run-rate below eight or nine an over and you don't have to take too many risks."

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With Australia set to play a T20I series against Sri Lanka next month while the Test squad is in India, Henriques suddenly seems a near-certainty to feature in interim coach Justin Langer's plans. 

The allrounder, who turns 30 next week, has played Tests (4), ODIs (8) and T20Is (6) without ever making a meaningful impact, but his opposite number Brendon McCullum believes now could be his time. 

The former Black Caps skipper was impressed with Henriques leadership on a challenging night for both teams. 

"He's played a lot of cricket now, he's an experienced guy," McCullum said. "With bat, ball and in the field he's composed – he understands what the game's about. 

"And he's been through the mill a little bit as well; he's been talked up a lot as an international player and he's gone through a tough period. 

"I think he's come through the other side and he's maturing as a cricketer, and I think he's embraced the captaincy and taken it in his stride. 

"He seems to give guys confidence as well, and he's a real lead-from-the-front type leader in big moments."

Henriques and Nic Maddinson are the only remaining Sixers who played in the inaugural BBL final – against the same opposition, at the same venue as Saturday night’s decider. 

The current captain opened the batting that night and made a man-of-the-match 71 as the Sixers became the tournament’s first champions. 

"It's good signs ahead that we haven't played that complete match," he added. "Hopefully we can save that for the final."