James Bazley, an underrated all-rounder, proved his worth as he took Brisbane Heat to their first-ever victory in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2020-21. Heat chased down a modest target of 149 with a lot of difficulties, winning the game by only four wickets, even after being 73/0 at one stage. With this win, the Brisbane-based team opened its account in the tournament.
Cruising to victory at one stage with the score on 73/0 in just six overs, Heat were pulled back to 102-6 in 11 with all established batsmen gone and two new guys at the crease - wicket-keeper batsman Jimmy Pierson and Bazley. It was then that the two put on an unbeaten 50-run stand, treading cautiously and mixing it up with some aggression, as and when required. It was this partnership that broke the Heat’s three-match winless run.
Known for his big-hitting, it was the bowling of D’Arcy Short that brought his team back into the game after an early onslaught by the Heat's openers. The left-arm chinaman tweaker put in his best-ever bowling effort, picking up four crucial wickets of Sam Heazlett, Dan Lawrence, Tom Cooper, and Lewis Gregory. He took the wickets within a span of 27 balls, breaking the Brisbane side's back.
However, after his quota of four overs was completed, which he finished with figures of 4-0-18-3, others couldn’t continue the pressure he created, resulting in Bazley and Pierson taking control of the game.
It was a stormy start to the chase by the Heat openers, giving almost no chance to the Hurricanes even to blink an eyelid and think of a plan. After scoring seven of the first over by James Faulkner, Heazlett and Max Bryant went berserk against the Hobart bowling. They scored a total of 66 runs in the next five overs, giving great joy to the people present at the Gabba.
Earlier in the day, Heat won the toss and invited the visitors to bat first. However, a star-studded Hurricanes batting lineup couldn’t live up to the expectations as one batsman after the other failed to shine. A start-stop innings never got on the track and it was thanks to a 20-ball 35-run stand for the eighth wicket between Faulkner and Wil Parker that got Hurricanes to a somewhat fighting total of 148 in 20 overs.
Lewis Gregory was the game changer with the ball for the Heat, picking up two crucial wickets of Dawid Malan and Peter Handscomb off two consecutive deliveries. Before that, he had already removed a dangerous-looking Short. The Somerset all-rounder finished his spell at 3-22 from four overs.
While this win has given the Heat some confidence, they would like to take it along to their next game when they play the Hurricanes in the reverse leg at the same venue on Wednesday, 30th December. The Canes, on the other hand, would look to bounce back from this defeat and get back to winning ways before their position in the top half of the table comes under any threat.
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