The return of Test trio Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Renshaw did not encourage the battling Brisbane Heat on Wednesday evening, with the Perth Scorchers cruising to a crushing eight-wicket win on the Gabba.
Chasing the Heat’s 20-over whole of 6-155, the guests had been not often troubled in securing their seventh win of the season with 22 balls to spare.
An unbeaten third-wicket partnership of 132 between Josh Inglis (67* off 35 balls) and Aaron Hardie (65* off 45 balls) proved the distinction, with the pair smashing the Heat assault to all components of the bottom.
Hardie completed the competition in emphatic type, smashing Spencer Johnson over the mid-on boundary for six.
Inglis and Hardie had been additionally deadly on part-time leg-spinner Labuschagne, whose solely over of the match value Brisbane 20 runs and turned the tide of the competition.
The loss was the Heat’s sixth defeat in 9 matches this season, with hopes of a finals berth shortly fading.
In distinction, the Scorchers’ newest win moved them to the highest of the BBL ladder and additional stamped them as favourites for the title.
Left-arm paceman Jason Behrendorff (3-21 off 4 overs) was the decide of the bowlers for the Scorchers, together with his scalps together with Labuschagne and Renshaw.
He would even have claimed the wicket of Khawaja had wicket-keeper Inglis not put down a scorching likelihood within the fourth over.
Test trio return for Heat
The Heat’s Test batting trio of Khawaja, Labuschagne and Renshaw performed some spectacular photographs however did not take advantage of their possibilities with the bat.
Khawaja 28 (23 balls) and Renshaw 27 (21 balls) would have been notably upset to not take advantage of their begins.
Playing in his first match for the Heat since his low season transfer from the Sydney Thunder, Brisbane skipper Khawaja appeared in whole management throughout his time on the crease.
However, he got here unstuck within the eleventh over – additionally the primary over of the Heat’s energy surge – when he hooked a brief ball from AJ Tye straight into the protected arms of Cameron Bancroft at deep mid-wicket.
Renshaw was additionally dismissed hooking, and in addition through the energy surge, together with his mistimed. top-edged stroke being effectively caught at mid-on by Tye off the bowling of Behrendorff.
Labuschagne 10 (9 balls) was additionally dismissed by Behrendorff, who enticed the Test star right into a sq. drive that was caught within the deep by Stevie Eskinazi.
Originally printed as Return of Test trio fails to ignite the Heat as Scorchers cruise to victory on the Gabba
