Forget Mission Impossible. The Brisbane Heat just filmed their own sequel at the Gabba in the greatest chase the BBL has ever seen.
The Friday night baseball blitz, where Brisbane (2-258) tracked down Perth’s 257, will be remembered as the night the Heat laughed at the laws of probability.
In the greatest advertisement of the short format, a record 36 sixes were tonked and a best-ever partnership of 212 between Matt Renshaw (102, 51 balls) and Jack Wildermuth (110 not out, 54 balls) gave 24277 Gabba fans tremendous value for money.
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MATCH CENTRE: Heat vs Scorchers scorecard, teams, stats
“This has been an astonishing innings,” Shane Watson said on Fox Cricket.
“That is unbelievable tonight. The batting has been phenomenal,” Brendon Julian added.
Perth young gun Cooper Connolly (77, 37 balls) and Finn Allen (79, 38 balls) had humbled the Heat bowlers in a routing that ended with Brisbane needing 258 off 120 balls.
When Jhye Richardson nicked off Heat opener Colin Munro on the first ball, Brisbane’s already low chances took a deeper dive.
But like a Christmas miracle, Brisbane miraculously recovered. A 212-run second-wicket partnership ensued, giving Perth a mighty fright as the hosts required 44 from the final 22 balls and then nine from the last over.
Renshaw, once touted as just a long-format batter, was audacious in everything he did en route to scoring the fourth ton in the club’s history. He was given a life because, on 20 in the third over, Renshaw was caught by Ashton Turner – only for the replay to show a no-ball by Richardson.
Allen with some MONSTROUS sixes! | 03:19
Across the 14 overs that followed, Renshaw and Wildermuth had mouths watering in anticipation of a historic chase. Every boundary peeled another layer off the impossible.
Astonishingly, Brisbane were 1-79 after six overs and scored quicker than Perth the entire way.
This was, in large, thanks to Wildermuth whose high score before throwing his cape on to steer the Heat home was just 31. Indeed the Valley all-rounder from Toowoomba went from zero to hero after conceding 47 runs off his four overs the innings prior.
Earlier, Brisbane were at base camp of the Himalayas, awaiting a mammoth hike of Mount Everest. By the end, they were planting a flag atop its peak. Max Bryant (28 not out, 16 balls) was pivotal before popping his left shoulder with two balls left.
Allen and Connolly provided the one-two punch that spearheaded the visitors toward 6-257 after smashing 150 runs from the first 12 overs.
The powerful pair were exhilarating during a 142-run stand and 258 looked an impossible total to chase.
Richardson strikes with his first ball | 00:53
Boom boy Connelly had reached his half century from 27 balls and brought it up with a six over mid-on.
Allen, who blasted eight sixes and twice showed how clean he was hitting it when tonking two big ones with one-handed follow throughs, emphasised a similar intent when he struck two sixes the over after Connolly departed.
It led to Perth bringing up its highest-ever score in the 19th over and also put returning Heat spinner Matt Kuhnemann (1-60) in the wrong chapter of the history books.
No spinner in competition history had ever leaked that many runs. But that meant little once his batting mates smacked the Perth bowlers between the eyes.
The Scorchers were spurred on by poor Heat fielding. They dropped four catches and bowled 14 wides.
Cooper Connolly just can’t be stopped! | 03:44
It meant whenever Brisbane took a wicket, they rarely capitalised to mount any pressure.
Instead, the Scorchers had belted 17 sixes and 10 fours even before the power surge was activated 17 overs in (5-213).
The Perth bowlers are due to shout their batters a feed, or better yet a Christmas feast, after they failed to hold up their end of the bargain as Brisbane cleared the previous highest-ever successful chase of 230 (Strikes over ‘Canes) in frantic fashion.
From tormenting the Heat bowlers to conceding six after six, it was a rollercoaster plucked from Movie World for the visitors.
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MATCH PREVIEW
Nathan McSweeney and the Brisbane Heat host Ashton Turner and the Perth Scorchers in a blockbuster BBL15 clash at The Gabba.
Nathan McSweeney won the bat flip and the Heat will bowl first in their clash with the Scorchers.
The Heat are coming off a first up loss to the Renegades, while the Scorchers beat the Sydney Sixers in their season opener.
Colin Munro and Matt Renshaw will lead the charge with the bat for the Heat, while Xavier Bartlett and Shaheen Afridi will be the danger men with the ball.
For the Scorchers Mitchell Marsh and Cooper Connolly will be the key men with the bat, while Joel Paris and Ashton Agar will be key with ball in hand.
The Scorchers will be looking to cement top spot on the ladder, while the last place Heat need to win to keep in touch with the top five.
It sets the scene for a fascinating clash between two former BBL champion teams.
TEAMS
Brisbane Heat: Colin Munro, Jack Wildermuth, Nathan McSweeney (c), Matthew Renshaw, Max Bryant, Hugh Weibgen, Jimmy Peirson (wk), Xavier Bartlett, Shaheen Afridi, Matt Kuhnemann, Liam Haskett
Perth Scorchers: Mitch Marsh, Finn Allen (wk), Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Ashton Turner (c), Laurie Evans, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Jhye Richardson, Joel Paris, Brody Couch