Klinger, Cooper take Strikers to easy win

A positive start by Michael Klinger and a late surge by Tom Cooper helped Adelaide Strikers beat Brisbane Heat by 31 runs at the Gabba. The win took the Strikers to second place while Heat are languishing at the bottom. Captain Klinger led the way with an unbeaten 53, building useful stands with opener Daniel Harris followed by Callum Ferguson. He batted steadily, striking seven fours in his 53. He fell in the 13th over with the score on 91, and Cameron Borgas followed in the 16th over with the score on 124. Cooper, though, gave the innings more impetus at the death, in the company of Johan Botha. The pair added an unbeaten 42 in 25 balls to take the Strikers to 166.

Matthew Hayden got the chase going with a couple of early boundaries but the Heat chase never really threatened, as the Strikers picked up wickets at regular intervals. Seamer Kane Richardson dismissed the openers, going for just two runs in his two overs, while Brendan Drew and James Muirhead also took two wickets each. The highest score in the innings was 35, and that came from No.8 Steve Paulsen. It took 18 overs for Strikers to bowl out their opponents.