Tumbling catch taken at mid-off, Heat are in a huddle right after. They have taken down Sixers in their home to win BBL 13. Into the pitch, SOK made room and tried to belt it up and over. Got a top edge, Walter took a dolly and celebrations followed.
Heat vs Sixers, Final at Sydney, BBL 2023, Jan 24 2024 - Match Result
BBL 13 took the popularity of the league back towards its peak. It has unearthed new heroes and connected people and cultures for the last 48 days. Thanks for tagging along in the journey. I'm Ekanth, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Alex Malcolm, our scorer Thilak Rama, and everyone who helped cover the comp. Goodnight.
Heat have ensured BBL is no more an eight-team comp that's played to crown Scorchers champions. They had a seven-game win streak and stormed into the finals despite the washouts. They didn't have the Gabba advantage as the second Australia vs West Indies Test will be played there. They didn't have all their top picks due to ILT20 signings. They suffered a setback at the Gold Coast but blazed past a red-hot Strikers the Challenger, thanks to Josh Brown. In the final, Brown stepped up again and Spencer Johnson rattled a dominant Sixers in their own backyard to be crowned champions again.
McSweeney gets the trophy, the team-mates come roaring to the stage. Confetti and fireworks go up, the stands are mostly empty. The roars from the players are all you could hear.
Nathan McSweeney, Brisbane Heat captain: Fantastic feeling. This is what you played for. Congratulations to the Sixers, who have been an excellent side forever. Well done to Steve O'Keefe. Thanks to Colin Munro, Usman, Marnus, and Billings who aren't here with us. Congrats to CA on the successful tournament and the Sydney crowd.
Time for Brisbane Heat's players to go up and collect their medals from some of the young representatives. The players hand their regular caps to the kids while keeping the winners' caps.
Daniel Hughes, Sydney Sixers vice-captain: Unfortunately, the skipper isn't up here tonight but it's up to me. Thanks to our sponsors firstly, thanks to our members and fans. We love your support. And to the Heat boys, well done. Congrats on another good year. To my team-mates, another awesome year. Couldn't get over the line tonight. To SOK, wonderful year. Round of applause for Sokky. Wonderful team-mate and person. You've left the team in a better place.
Spencer Johnson, POTM for his 4 for 26: This is pretty special to be in this position again. We wanted to make amends after last year and here we are. Credit the Sixers, they've been awesome all year. It's taken an awesome performance to get over. To Brisbane Heat, you've changed by life. Thank you for everything.
11:06pm Presentations coming up.
Spencer Johnson on Fox: "I owe Brisbane Heat everything. Coming up here last year, I didn't know where my career was going and now I've just won a Big Bash with 11 of my closest mates. So it's pretty cool. Credit to the batters, Browny again, got us to a total that we can defend and I feel like we were the best team all year so I think we deserve to have the medal around our necks. This is pretty cool. The first over probably didn't go the way I wanted it to. To get a couple of wickets and win it's pretty special. Twelve months ago, I wasn't in this position. And I think the Brisbane Heat have changed my life. So it's pretty special."
SLN: "Brisbane are nothing without their international players.... well the last 2 games have shown they have international ready players, whatta performance"
Jimmy Peirson: Long time coming, it's a bit raw at the minute. Lots of ups and downs but pleased to be back to be part of the team with so much success.
Michael Neser: Catch was almost a reflex thing. I knew I was close but not that close to the boundary. It's a huge win for the group. We've put in a lot of work after the loss last year. Feel we've been the most consistent team. (To the family) Love you all.
Matt Kuhnemann: I'm speechless, so happy for the boys. Best feeling ever.
Mitchell Swepson: It's my ninth year at the club, feels like it's a long time coming. We've got the reward we wanted.
10:55pm Brisbane Heat have joined Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers to win the BBL multiple times. They put up a competitive 166 after losing the toss which looked around par. Michael Neser set the tone first over, removing Hughes with Test-match bowling. Edwards got going after biding some time, he took on Johnson in his first over but the speedster, who conceded 13 off his first balls gave away just as many in the rest of his spell. He had Edwards chop on and used his pace to ensure that batters couldn't swipe him across the line. He took out Philippe, Dwarshuis, and Kerr to ensure there was no middle-order fightback. Sixers' hopes were hinging on Henriques but that didn't last long as his efforts to take on Walter in an early Power Surge led to him top edging a pull to midwicket. The wickets kept tumbling thereafter and a glorious catch from Neser at the close added to Heat's party.
SOK won't get the fairytale finish but can get a few hits
Sarthak: "Michael Neser, how do you keep doing it?!"
Has Neser taken a miraculous catch? He ran to the left from long-on, was falling down and reached up and took it with both hands. He had one knee on the ground, used his left hand to balance himself, yanked his right elbow back and threw it to long-off running in from the other side. His palm was in the air and not on the rope while releasing it. That'll be thumbnails of crazy-catch compilations. Was a slot ball at 123ks on off that Abott skied across the line, it went miles high in the air and should've been six
Slogged over midwicket. Full, slot in this stage, on middle and off, Abbott cleared the front leg and walloped it across the line
Bartlett returns
Into the pitch, beats the pull. Landed outside off and jumps up to go over the bat swing
Slapped through cover, no sweeper there. Fullish ball with a bit of width, Murphy freed his arms and sliced it flat over the infield
Full and slow outside off, smears it along the ground to deep midwicket
Smacked into the midwicket outfield, deep midwicket runs across and cuts it off. Sydney crowd applauds the team's hundred. A bit of /s maybe
Full outside off, whipped to long-on
Length on fifth, tries to work it leg side, leading edge takes it to the right of the bowler, on the bounce
Matt Renshaw says not over. Says someone can still get 50 off 10, probably just wants to keep the foot on the gas
Turn and bounce beats the pull. Length ball landed in front of off and ripped away, Abbott was overwhelmed but tried to bunt it last second. Ball went over anway. Kuhnemann ends with 0 for 16
Cuts the length ball outside off to deep point
Matthew: "Has big Spence made a genuine case for T20 WC selection? Not just this game, but the tournament as a whole? He's been electric! "
Full around off, driven to long-off
Wide, slow and full, 83ks, Murphy gets on one knee and mistimes a slog sweep to long-on. The fizzle's strong
Full on middle, flat dart, clipped back to the bowler
Length on middle and off, worked back to the bowler
72 needed off 30. Kuhnemann, from around
David: "Johnson's first went for 13, next 3 went for the same."
Thamizh Ponnu: "Spencer Johnson: MoM and MoBBL23/24"
Yorker on leg, helped around the corner. That ends Johnson's potential POTM performance with the ball.
Johnson completes a four-for by knocking another batter out pulling. Kerr made room and got followed, Johnson went into the pitch again and induced the splice.
Nice pull to deep midwicket, slightly wide throw but point is there to back up. Kerr crouched and pulled that back of lengther along the ground
Makes room and pumps it over mid-off, who was in. Johnson tried following him but bowled t in the slot
Krithika: "Whom and why did the SCG crowd boo ? If it is for Kerr , extremely unfair on the crowd's part. An athlete can get injured anytime " Hopefully not
Backs away and gets followed by a hard-length ball, square driven off the back foot to deep point
1W | ||||
1W | 1W |
1W | ||||
2W | ||||
1W | ||||
1W | ||||
Sydney Cricket Ground | |
Toss | Sydney Sixers, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2023/24 |
Player Of The Match | |
Series result | Brisbane Heat won the 2023/24 Big Bash League |
Match days | 24 January 2024 - night (20-over match) |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee |
Over 18 • SS 112/10