(Cricket News) Brown finished with the third-highest individual score in BBL history, smashing a record 12 sixes in his 140 off 57 balls. Brown destroyed the in-form spinners Cameron Boyce and Lloyd Pope to completely dominate Heat’s huge total of 214 for 7 in the Challenger final.
Brown made the two-paced surface appear easier than it actually was, as Strikers failed miserably in the chase, with Heat speedster Spencer Johnson leading the way with three wickets.
After finishing top of the table and suffering a 39-run home loss to Sixers in the Qualifier, Heat made a strong comeback to face Sydney Sixers in the SCG on Wednesday in the final.
The in-form Strikers were left deflated after entering the game with confidence after five straight victories, capped by an upset road victory over defending champions Perth Scorchers in the Knockout. Heat will look to end an 11-year title drought.
After losing to the Sixers by 113 runs, the Heat changed their batting order, selecting opener Charlie Wakim for his first-season debut. They also decided to bat first, which turned out to be a smart move on a surface that seemed to be better for batting than it had been in the previous game.
Wakim was removed off the field by quick David Payne’s opening ball in the second over, and Brown took over, initially hitting sixes over midwicket off seamers Henry Thornton and James Bazley.
Though the Strikers were rattled, they turned to their legspinners, Boyce and Pope, who had shown themselves to be an unstoppable combination during the Strikers’ winning run.
Boyce and Pope had combined for seven wickets against a tentative Scorchers batting lineup at the pace-friendly Optus Stadium, but Brown, ever the aggressor, chose to go for the aerial route in favorable conditions with little spin available.
Brown breezed past his half-century in 22 balls and made the decision to dismiss Boyce and Pope before the drinks arrived. Brown hit three sixes in one over off Boyce, who had only been hit for eight sixes in ten previous games this season.
It all clicked into gear as Brown kept hitting over the covers with brute force as he eyed the fastest century in BBL history set ten years ago when Craig Simmons blasted a 39-ball century for Scorchers.
In the Challenger, Brown fell short of that mark, but on his 41st delivery he pumelled Boyce over the covers for his ninth six to reach a maiden BBL century. Brown had shown glimpses of his muscular batting before but had not quite put it together. In 21 previous BBL innings, he had only averaged 20.52 with one half-century.
The pressure was on captain Matthew Short to lead from the front, and he started quickly before holing out in the fourth over to Johnson, who dismissed opener D’Arcy Short two balls later.
The onus then fell on in-form No. 3 Jake Weatherald, who came in averaging 183 with a strike rate of 192.62 in his last three games since becoming a late-season inclusion. Glenn Maxwell’s BBL record of 154 not out was seriously threatened before Brown finally holed out in the 17th over as Heat went down to victory.
Even with valiant attempts from Thomas Kelly (41 in 24 balls) and Harry Nielsen (50 in 33), Heat were inevitable to advance to their second consecutive final as he could not get going and fell before refreshments to an energised Johnson.
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