Brisbane overcome a nervy chase to continue their winning run, thanks to the all-round heroics of Ben Cutting
Match Report:
ScorecardHeat sneak home to make it three in a row
The match in a tweet: Heat sneak home! Lynn's lads climb to third with three wins on the bounce as Wade stands alone for Hurricanes #BBL09
The score: Hobart Hurricanes 9-126 (Wade 61; Lalor 3-21) lost to Brisbane Heat 5-131 (Cutting 43*; Boland 3-16) by five wickets with 10 balls to spare
The heroes: Ben Cutting joined Jimmy Peirson with the Heat suddenly on the ropes at 5-71. The hosts required 56 from 55 balls at that point and cool heads were called for. The pair have 127 BBL games between them and their experience shone through, with hard running and the dispatching of bad balls the clear order of the day. Cutting at one point flirted with disaster when he took on the deep midwicket and won – just – to take the Heat total to 100. But it proved a turning point; next ball, he went again, this time a maximum over fine leg. The two sixes turned the tide back in favour of the Heat, and when Peirson pulled a four a couple of balls later, the home crowd of 29,749 could breathe a little easier. Around 10 minutes later, Cutting ended it in style, blasting a six over midwicket to seal the five-wicket win.
"C'MON!!!" Ben Cutting is PUMPED as he hits the winning runs at the Gabba #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/aAQdYxsXX8%E2%80%94 KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 9, 2020
The consolation efforts: Matthew Wade returned to purple (and black) without missing a beat, winning the toss, batting and promptly making a measured 61 (46) from the top of the order. Unfortunately for Wade, his fellow batters offered little support; no other player in the top six reached double figures. Scott Boland (3-16) was also outstanding for the 'Canes, removing key trio Max Bryant, Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns to add an unlikely twist to proceedings.
The moment: It was the catch that launched a thousand questions. A rule change from October 2013 states quite clearly that the umpires got it right, but that didn't stop mass confusion. Watch it below, and check out the explanation here.
The blow-up: Wade did have one moment he would probably rather not watch again. Certainly, Ben McDermott wasn't happy…
Uh oh... #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/HdrdUxzGS4%E2%80%94 cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 9, 2020
The other run-out: Veterans George Bailey (0) and Wade had contrasting days with the bat but the pair teamed up to execute an excellent run-out. A moment's hesitation between Chris Lynn and Jimmy Peirson proved disastrous, when Bailey pounced at cover-point, threw to the non-striker's end, and Wade brilliantly ran in to collect beside the stumps and whip off the bails in one fluid motion, much like the wicketkeeper he is.
How handy is it having a second keeper in the outfield? Brilliant stuff here from Matthew Wade #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/VEtMSeDwEp%E2%80%94 KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 9, 2020
The stat: Josh Lalor has been a regular wicket-taker for the Heat across the past couple of seasons and the left-armer brought up an impressive milestone tonight: 50 wickets in the KFC Big Bash.
The ladder: It's a logjam! The Heat are now in third spot on eight points (four wins from seven matches), while the Hurricanes are comparatively languishing in seventh – but are in fact just two points behind Brisbane (three wins from seven).
The next stop: It's a quick turnaround for both teams. The Hurricanes head to Sydney to take on the Thunder on Saturday (Jan 11), while the Heat play later that same day against the Scorchers in Perth.
Brisbane Heat XI: Tom Banton, Max Bryant, Chris Lynn (c), Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns, Ben Cutting, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Mitchell Swepson, Josh Lalor, Ben Laughlin, Zahir Khan.
Hobart Hurricanes XI: Matthew Wade (c), Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott (wk), David Miller, George Bailey, Simon Milenko, Clive Rose, Tom Rogers, Nathan Ellis, Qais Ahmad, Scott Boland