Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Swepson shared five wikis with their legs
Brisbane Heat 7 for 181 (Lynn 51, Labuschagne 46) beat Perth Writers 6 for 175 (Marsh 54 *, Roy 41, Labuschagne 3-35) with six runs
Brisbane Heat survived a late kill from Mitchell Marsh to secure their place in the BBL finals for the first time in four seasons. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Swepson shared five wikis to fall in the rare Perth Scorchers before Marsh threatened a big turnaround with 54 off 26 balls.
As is often the case, the heat was put on the track by a blistering half-century by Chris Lynn, before he got over midfield moving through a stand of 56 in six pitches between Labuschagne and Lewis Gregory. Jhye Richardson and Fawad Ahmed had taken 96 off their eight pets as they both rarely suffered expensive trips.
The Scorchers firmly went out of the blocks in the chase when the dynamic pair Jason Roy and Liam Livingstone opened with a stand of 53 but the game changed after Livingstone lost a wild back at Swepson. However, what appeared to be the effect of a nailed heat turned to a poisonous finish with 17 missing the last one then 10 off three balls but Ben Laughlin was able to shut it out.
Lynn’s valuable early expense
Lynn has reached double figures in all innings this season with a top score of 69 but often feels like he leaves some running in the middle. That was the case again here when he filed a 24-ball fumble, which included a monstrous six-over cover against the Richardson bowler of the tournament, but then fell the next delivery opposite. However, the innings, which also included six backs from Ahmed who admitted his most expensive T20 figures, had pushed the heat up for a strong ten-over score – which ended at level 2 for 96 – which would later allow them to secure the crucial Bash Boost point.
The reconstruction
Just after the midpoint, which saw the Heat use their X-Factor to bring in Jack Wildermuth for Xavier Bartlett, they suffered a wobble. Joe Denly was extremely caught by Marsh and in the next one Joe Burns outscored Jason Behrendorff behind him as 2 for 96 to 4 for 100. Three innings passed endlessly and the heat seemed to be over. flowed, but they were put back on track when Labuschagne and Gregory 19 took off Behrendorff’s last to show off the truly impressive figures. While Labuschagne had been an acre (while maintaining a strike rate over 100) Gregory provided the main impetus with 36 off 22 balls although the heat stopped again when the Power Surge, with Richardson and AJ Tye, just for 11.
Legspin retains a crucial point
The two Scorchers openers found life from balls in a row in third place and after Livingstone defeated a delivery from Swepson which was largely kicking it appeared that Roy had another life when he applied for Laughlin although the application for the keeper was dismissed. However, it cost no more than six to ten, put down by a mix of Swepson, Laughlin and Labuschagne, but 18 runs with Labuschagne claiming his first when Colin Munro topped off a backhand sweep that was well captured by Swepson coming in from deep space. Swepson then ended his spell by removing Roy and when Labuschagne hit twice in four balls in his third – the second delivery going on to defeat him. Ashton Turner – watched the game over.
Marsh makes a nervous Heat
When the Scorchers announced the Power Surge they needed 81 off 30 balls and Labuschagne got his final round within the field limits. It looked a potentially costly move when Marsh took 14 off three balls and a total of 31 runs came from the Surge to leave the Scorchers needing 51 off the last three pitches. Laughlin then went for 17 while Marsh continued to take advantage of a short finish on the leg side and the Heat dugout began to shake unevenly. They could have closed the game in the semi-final but Max Bryant sheltered Marsh at the deep square foot and then the next ball went for six. 17 were needed off the last one inside Marsh’s wheelhouse, but with nine missing from the last two balls – or eight for Super Over – Marsh couldn’t find the end against a yorker and full low toss. With that, two looks remained in the finals for a catch.
Andrew McGlashan is deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo