BBL 12, Brisbane Heat 224 for 5 (McSweeney 84, Brown 62) defeated Sydney Sixers 209 (Silk 41, Vince 41, Neser 3-41) by 15 runs, despite cameos from Vince, Silk, and Kerr. Josh Brown manufactures his own bats and can wield them after lighting up the Gabba with a blazing half-century to fuel the Brisbane Heat’s 15-run triumph against the Sydney Sixers.
BBL, McSweeney, and Brown shine as Heat win run-fest
Heat allrounder Michael Neser grabbed Sixers’ Jordan Silk (41 off 23 balls) well inside the boundary line in the 19th over, flung it in the air, walked beyond the field of play, and then tossed it up again while airborne. He then finished the catch within the boundary rope – all within the rules – as the Sixers came dangerously close to setting a BBL record run chase. Brown, 29, had previously delivered a whirlwind inning, scoring 62 off only 23 balls in the Heat’s 224 for 5.
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The Sixers put up a valiant fight in their chase on a night of pure batting entertainment, but they came short of being all out from the last ball. Brown produced something unique in front of 23,689 people while utilizing a Cooper Cricket bat to get the Heat’s season started. In just his second BBL game, he reached the century mark in 19 deliveries, which is tied for the seventh quickest in Heat history. Brown crossed the boundary six times with a variety of spectacular strokes, including a lofted cover drive off Jackson Bird that screamed quality.
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He collaborates with Rod Grey, the inventor of Cooper Cricket. He has built hundreds of Cooper bats and repaired thousands more. “That is my full-time job outside of cricket,” Brown said after his strike. “I build my own bats. I had a lot of joy doing repairs for the [Heat] lads.” Brown has been in excellent form for his Brisbane club team Norths this season, but he didn’t realize he was talented until he was 24.
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T20 franchises all over the globe will no doubt be interested in him. “I have discovered my new favorite player,” Adam Gilchrist stated during the game’s broadcast. Nathan McSweeney (84 off 51 balls) kept Brown’s momentum going with a wonderfully timed first BBL half-century, lifting the Heat to their biggest BBL total.
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Sixers openers Josh Philippe and James Vince set a club record with 54 runs off four power-play overs. Silk and allrounder Hayden Kerr scored 54 runs in 26 balls for the sixth wicket, but Jimmy Peirson’s superb stumping of Kerr off-spinner Matt Kuhnemann proved important. After taking 3 for 41 with the ball, Neser’s catch to eliminate Silk proved vital in the run chase.
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