Latest Match Report – Heat vs Thunder 17th Match 2022/23

Sydney Thunder 124 for 0 (Hales 59*, Gilks 56*). Brisbane Heat 121 for 6 (Monroe 43, Green 2-14) from 10 wickets

Sydney Thunder overcame their demons with a fighting chase on a tough Sydney Showground Stadium surface to beat the Brisbane Heat by 10 wickets and snap a three-game losing streak.

The Thunder won their first game since the season opener, while the Heat fell to a 1-3 record.

Thunder openers cast out demons.

It took just 11 deliveries for Thunder to pass the infamous total. Glicks was a duck that night and had scored just six runs in four innings this season, but broke out of his drought by attacking star pacers Michael Nesser and Mark Stecketti fluently.

Before Glucks began to dominate, Hales made sure the Thunder didn’t squander such an impressive platform. The Thunder added steam in the 11th over and Gilks capitalized with three sixes and a four, completing his half-century in style by making 25 off leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson.

Hales completed his half-century before smashing the winning boundary to ensure the home fans celebrated with gusto, in contrast to the strikers’ mocking celebration during the match.

Heat bowlers are struggling to hit.

Although they had modest totals on defense, the Heat would have been confident given their attack and the Thunder’s batting weaknesses.

Nasir, who had taken six wickets including a hat-trick in the two previous BBL games, had featured extensively and there was an expectation that he would cause problems early on.

But he was uncharacteristically loose and so was his crime partner in staidness as the Heat never recovered. They seemed to be bowling on a different wicket as the Heat bowlers looked troubled by the Thunder’s aggressive openers.

They fell apart towards the end in a poor performance and will have to go back to the drawing board to revive a turbulent season.

Kadir impressed on Thunder debut.

Granted that helped, but leg-spinner Usman Qadir started the Thunder brilliantly with 1 for 19 in four overs. He bowled accurately with his looping deliveries, constantly teasing the batsmen. Perhaps his most impressive feat was not recognizing the boundary.

The son of Pakistan’s legendary spinner Abdul Qadir was brought into the squad to provide cover for the injured Tanveer Singha.

Qadir, who has played 23 T20s for Pakistan, last played in the BBL four years ago for the Perth Scorchers but performed only modestly.

With Heat struggling, they came into the attack in the 10th over and bowled cleanly during a period that saw set batsmen Colin Munro and Jimmy Pearson put their feet down.

Qadir was awarded the wicket of Pearson in the 15th over despite being mixed up in the field. He took a fine diving catch to dismiss opener Max Bryant in the second over, but was unable to repeat the effort on the boundary when he dismissed Xavier Bartlett in the seventeenth over of the innings.

Qadir also missed a great comeback opportunity in the last over, but it failed to dampen his strong debut.

Bad knock by Pearson, shows Bartlett’s batting prowess.

It may not have been the infamous Gabba pitch of the first Test, but the Showground surface was tough for early batting.

This was evident when Pearson took a nasty hit on the neck from Nathan McAndrew after a fast ball. After receiving medical attention, he continued to bat but never looked comfortable.

With stalwart Chris Lane gone and Usman Khawaja and Marnes Leboschgen on Test duty, Heat’s batting revolves around Sam Billings but he managed just one run against his old side.

Monroe, another high-profile recruit, had his best score of the season but the big hitters were uncharacteristically tied. He scored 43 off 47 balls before falling in the 16th over amid a lightning surge.

Heat looked as if they could barely muster 100 but were given a late boost by Bartlett, who – 12 months ago – was tipped to become a genuine all-rounder before his batting nosedived.

The 24-year-old’s cameo of 28 off 17 balls was the highest score across formats this season in a glimpse of his obvious batting talent.

Tristan Lovelette is a journalist based in Perth.

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