Heazlett, Bazley steer Brisbane Heat home on Gold Coast after midnight border crossing
The duo headlined a five-wicket victory over Melbourne Renegades after Heat crossed the border from NSW at 2am on match day
ESPNcricinfo staff
13-Dec-2021
Sam Heazlett made a 29-ball 44 • Cricket Australia via Getty Images
Brisbane Heat 5 for 141 (Heazlett 44, Lynn 32, Khan 2-27) beat Melbourne Renegades 6 for 140 (Harvey 71, Bazley 3-28) by five wickets
Brisbane Heat overcame a midnight border crossing to claim their first BBL victory of the summer, defeating Melbourne Renegades by five wickets on the Gold Coast.
Set a target of 141 after Mackenzie Harvey's unbeaten 71 lifted the visitors to 6 for 140 at Metricon Stadium, Heat were given a typically fast start by Chris Lynn's 32 off 15 balls to reach the target with 19 balls to spare.
The win comes after Heat left the northern New South Wales town of Kingscliff, where they had been staying following last week's loss to Perth Scorchers in Western Australia, and crossed the border at 2am on Monday before reaching their hotel two hours later.
Sent in to bat by Heat captain Jimmy Peirson, Renegades had plenty to be thankful towards Harvey for after he top-scored, off 56 balls. He was the only Renegades batter to pass 20 in a innings where the Heat bowlers Liam Guthrie (0 for 10) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (0 for 19) bowled their four overs each without conceding a boundary.
Legspinner Mitch Swepson and English Lions batter Tom Abell added to Heat's line-up after participating in the four-day tour game at Brisbane's Ian Healy Oval, where Australia A defeated the Lions by 112 runs.
Swepson, in tandem with Mujeeb, tied down the Renegades in the first half of their innings, as they went from the end of the third over until the 11th without scoring a boundary.
Player-of-the-Match James Bazley was the leading wicket-taker for the hosts with 3 for 28 and then contributed a handy innings to help finish the game.
Lynn smashed three boundaries and a six off the first four deliveries of Will Sutherland's first over to get the Heat off to a perfect start. He fell trying to launch one too many off left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan who was the best of Renegades' bowlers with 2 for 27 off his four overs.
After a brief wobble at 5 for 107, Sam Heazlett guided the chase home with an unbeaten 44 off 29 deliveries.
Brisbane next play Sydney Thunder at the Gabba on Sunday with Renegades' next match at home against Scorchers on December 22.