Heat storm home to seal win over Sixers

The match in a tweet: Heat red-hot! Late stand defies Sixers as Brisbane take crucial three points #BBL10

The score: Sydney Sixers 8-165 (Philippe 48, Silk 43; Steketee 4-33) lost to Brisbane Heat 6-171 (Bryant 40,) by four wickets with seven balls remaining

The points: Heat 3, Sixers 1

The heroes: The Heat had sunk into an all-too-familiar mid-innings funk at 6-121 when allrounders Lewis Gregory and Jack Wildermuth came together. With 45 runs required from 28 balls, it wasn't an impossible ask, but cool heads were needed. And that's exactly what the Heat found in the Gregory and Wildermuth. The Englishman has impressed since exiting quarantine and after removing his compatriot James Vince early in proceedings, he stepped up at the perfect moment with the bat, hammering a couple of delightful sixes as part of a swashbuckling 31no. Wildermuth was thus able to play second fiddle, and he did it expertly, scampering between the wickets to drive the Sixers to distraction then plonking the winning six straight as the Heat grabbed a vital three points.

The support cast: Mark Steketee (4-33) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-28) did the damage with the ball before another strong top-order contribution from Max Bryant gave the Heat some early impetus with the bat.

The return: It was a new scene for Brisbane Heat veteran Joe Burns after his axing but a sadly familiar tale, with the out-of-form opener picking out third man from the seventh ball he faced to depart for one.

The consolation effort: He's generally an unsung member of this table-topping Sixers side but it was difficult to overlook the all-round contribution of left-armer Ben Dwarshuis tonight. The hard-hitting lower-order bat crashed a vital 24no late in the piece before taking the timely wickets of Joe Denly and Jimmy Peirson.

The X-Factor sub: For the first time, the Heat utilised the new sub rule, bringing in top-order batsman Sam Heazlett for left-arm finger spinner Matt Kuhnemann, whose one over had cost him 16 runs.

The catch: Jimmy Peirson – WOW! Check this out…

The stat: Steketee's 4-33 was his first four-wicket haul for the Heat and made him just the second man in teal to claim 50 wickets (52) after Ben Cutting.

The next stops: The Sixers are back in action tomorrow night against the Strikers at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, while the Heat return to the Gabba the following evening (Jan 4) to face the Thunder.