Heat Defeat sees Thunder Make the Finals

Heat needed to win the match to get into fourth place in the standings, but the loss means that Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder will contest the ‘Eliminator’ match on Thursday night at Blundstone Arena.

The game was symptomatic of Heat’s turbulent season; batting has either been brilliant or left wanting. Today, the Heat lost a wicket early but were hindered by the loss of big guns Chris Lynn and AB de Villiers. Lynn scored 14 while de Villiers scored six runs as the Heat found themselves at 4/65 in the 9^th over.

Ben Cutting was asked, again, to play the pinch-hitting role and did so before Will Sutherland trapped him in front for 27 from 12 balls. With the Heat losing wickets too regularly, they needed to consolidate. Matt Renshaw and Marnus Labuschagne provided some stability while Renegades captain Aaron Finch burned through the middle overs by using Mohammed Nabi to good effect.

Labuschagne’s 28 from 26 helped the Heat, but they needed some big hits to push the score towards the 160 mark. Renshaw played some shots in his 65, being run out off the last ball, as the Heat fell just short on 7/154. The total looked about twenty runs short of a decent score, and the Heat was always going to struggle to defend it.

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Renegades opener Tom Cooper set about the total like he was double-parked. Striking three fours and a six, Cooper amassed 23 in no time before flicking the ball down the throat of midwicket. Dan Christian was promoted to bat at three, and the Heat responded by bringing in spin to stop the big all-rounder scoring as quickly as Cooper. Christian duly struggled against Mujeeb and perished to trying to hit the spinner over midwicket.

Renegades pulled another surprise by bringing Beau Webster in at four. As much as the batter has had a good BBL campaign, he too has struggled with spin. Mujeeb and Mitchell Swepson kept it tight before Ben Cutting benefitted by picking up the wicket of Webster. With less pace from Cutting, Webster did hit him for six before being bowled by an off-cutter for 14.

Mohammed Nabi joined Finch which brought experience to the crease for the Renegades. Both batted sensibly while looking for the bad balls to hit. They saw off Mujeeb, who bowled an excellent spell of 1-14 while keeping in touch with the required run rate.

By the end of the 16^th over, the Renegades were 3/126 and needed 29 from the last 18 balls. Desperate for a wicket, Chris Lynn brought on Marnus Labuschagne as a last resort. Ball four saw Finch hit a towering six over long-on. Finch mishit ball five and his slog sweep went straight to Jack Prestwidge at deep midwicket. However, the fielder dropped the regulation catch and with it any chance of winning the game.

A misfield by the unfortunate Prestwidge, clearly concentrating on his earlier error, led to four runs before Finch made sure in the last over with seven from the first two balls. Renegades ended their season with a seven-wicket victory while the Heat saw their finals chances gone.