Blistering Chris Lynn, Mark Steketee three-for guide Brisbane Heat past Melbourne Stars
In a match reduced to ten overs, Brisbane Heat's fielding acrobatics helped them defend a revised score
Lynn came in as the X-Factor sub in the Heat's last match against Sydney Thunder, scoring a critical 30 off 16 to set up the chase. But the skipper was back at the helm and led from the front with a vintage performance.
Just as the Stars had regained some momentum, the rain came. A 30-minute delay reduced the game to 14 overs-a-side but it changed the over limits on the bowlers. Maxwell had gambled with two overs from each of his four frontline bowlers in the first eight overs and lost. He had to bowl himself to Lynn on resumption and got dispatched for consecutive sixes before rain stopped play again.
The Heat's fielding was sublime with two stunning catches and an extraordinary six save. The Stars opted to stick with their opening pair of Fletcher and Stoinis, and took 36 from the first four overs. But despite that, they were miles behind the required run-rate with Fletcher battling at a run-a-ball. The misery ended when he fell in the fifth over to a brilliant team effort. Fletcher lofted Mujeeb ur Rahman straight down the ground, as Mark Steketee took the catch while reaching over the rope with one foot planted inside and then flicked it to Xavier Bartlett as he fell over. In the next over, Gregory held on to a difficult, towering sky ball at deep backward square to remove Nicholas Pooran, who had hit 17 off five balls.
Alex Malcolm is a freelance writer based in Melbourne