Downs duo lights it up
Quicks combine to dominate Scorchers in BBL
CRICKET: Darling Downs quicks Brendan Doggett and Mark Steketee produced a Twenty20 master-class on Friday night.
Steketee (3-28) and Doggett (5-35) combined to take eight wickets in the Brisbane Heat’s 49-run win over the Perth Scorchers at the Gabba. Paceman Doggett became just the second Heat bowler to claim five wickets as the team moved to the top of the Big Bash League ladder.
Sent into bat the Heat brought a record Gabba BBL crowd to its feet when they posted 6-191 from their 20 overs.
The record crowd of 35,564 had instant entertainment as the “Bash Brothers” Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum catapulted the Heat into the match.
Lynn (39 from 20 balls) had 31 runs before McCullum (32 from 27) faced his first ball with the pair combining for 59 runs.
“It would have been nice to kick on and get a real big one tonight but it wasn’t to be,” Lynn said.
“We tend to live and die by the sword but that’s the way we play.”
After a brief lull in the scoring Joe Burns (36 from 26) and man of the match Ben Cutting (46 from 20) rushed through a 62-run stand in 29 balls, combining for eight sixes.
The Heat struck early with the ball as Steketee claimed two wickets in successive balls, starting with Michael Klinger.
And the visitors’ troubles deepened when Mitchell Swepson (1-34 from 4) and Doggett took wickets from consecutive overs to reduce the Scorchers to 4-62 in the 10th over.
Doggett struck again late to claim the last wicket to secure his record haul.