Kuhnemann commits as Heat fend off rival interest

Brisbane Heat have beaten hot competition to retain the services of Test and ODI spinner Matthew Kuhnemann for the next three KFC Big Bash seasons.

Kuhnemann enjoyed a breakout BBL campaign last summer, taking 16 wickets – more than he had managed in the three seasons prior combined – as the Heat launched a late charge to the final, which they ultimately lost in Perth.

The left-arm orthodox spinner's stocks then continued to rise when he was selected for the Test tour of India and proceeded to play in three Tests, at one point opening the bowling while going on to collect a maiden five-wicket haul.

The 26-year-old also played four ODIs in Sri Lanka last year, taking six wickets, and his credentials were enough to attract serious interest from the Melbourne Stars, who are reportedly set to lose star leg-spinner Adam Zampa to crosstown rivals Melbourne Renegades.

"I was overseas through a lot of the negotiations but obviously when a team like the Stars (approaches you), you give it some interest – they've got some world-class players like (Glenn) Maxwell, they play at the MCG," he said. 

"But it's the same at the Heat, we're building something really good there. I ended up making my decision based on the guys at the Heat, and the Queensland crowd, which really gets around us at the Gabba."

After a breakout red-ball campaign in 2021-22 in which he claimed 25 Sheffield Shield wickets, Kuhnemann only played two first-class matches last summer and did not feature for Queensland in the Marsh One-Day Cup, with leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson remaining the state's first-choice spinner.

The pair have regularly been selected together for the Heat, and last summer Kuhnemann outperformed his spin twin on their march to the decider.

"I love working with 'Sweppo' and we've had some success together, and hopefully we can have some more," he says.

"Speaking to Uzzie (Khawaja, Heat captain), he's really drilled into me that he should be able to bowl me in the first over or the 20th over … if you want to play for Australia, you've got to be able to bowl any over.

"I love bowling with the new ball, and I've watched a lot of (Ravindra) Jadeja, and even Michael Beer, the way he bowled early and tried to swing (his arm) ball, I took a lot out of that.

"The best spinners can do that – you see Zampa bowl in the Powerplay, (Ashton) Agar – it's one of those things where if you want to be a successful spinner in T20 cricket, you've got to have the skills to be able to bowl all the overs."

With this in mind, Kuhnemann capitalised on having Jadeja at close quarters during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series, seeking advice from the star Indian left-arm spinner.

"He gave me some tips for all formats," he says. "We spoke about run-up, pace, all that type of stuff. He was excellent, said he's always open to anything, just flick him a message.

"So I've got a lot of people to lean on for advice – I love Marnus (Labuschagne), love Uzzie, it's awesome having them two around to speak to as well."

Kuhnemann has recovered from a bone stress injury in his back which cut short his stint with Durham in the County Championship and kept him out of training for a couple of months.

The left-armer has returned to running and bowling, and is now eager to implement the lessons he has learned over his meteoric 12-month rise.

"I just can't wait to get out there and bowl again," he said. "The experiences I've picked up, the things I've learnt, the confidence you get rubbing shoulders with guys like Maxwell and (Aaron) Finch and (David) Warner, it's unbelievable, and it's a good open (Australian) dressing room, I got lots of tips from them as well."