Sam shines in the Heat
Heazlett leads way
ALMOST five years after his sole one-day international, Sam Heazlett is showing why Australian selectors plucked him from obscurity to make his debut.
Heazlett was a relative unknown but tipped for big things when selected against New Zealand as a 21-year-old in 2017.
He hadn’t played a 50-over game for Queensland when he was thrown into the international cauldron in Auckland.
The left-hander’s career hasn’t reached those heights since, although he has quietly become a key cog in Brisbane Heat’s middle-order.
Heazlett is the Heat’s leading runscorer in BBL11, lifting his average to 43.5 after a crucial knock of 49 from 30 balls in Brisbane’s win over Adelaide Strikers.
“A little bit of a different role for Sam this year, batting at four or five,” teammate James Bazley said. “He’s opened the batting for the Heat in a lot of previous seasons.
“It’s suiting him well coming out there, getting off strike, hitting the ball hard. Picking up the odd boundary, rather than feeling the pressure to score boundaries early.
“A little bit of a change of role has helped him I think and he’s been really consistent. He’s going to be a big part of our success this year.”
With bash brothers Chris
Lynn and Max Bryant averaging less than 20 this summer, Heazlett’s middle-order rearguard has been pivotal.
Bazley backed Lynn, who has 82 runs from five innings, to turn his tournament around.
“It’s just a matter of time,” he said.
Bazley is the Heat’s leading wicket-taker with seven, while Mark Steketee and Xavier Bartlett are next best with five.
Brisbane is yet to see the best of Afghani spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has one wicket at an average of 139.
But Bazley said Mujeeb was close to carving through an opposition batting line-up.
“We know what we get from Mujeeb,” he said. “Getting a low economy rate every single game and I think the wickets will come.
“Being in this tournament for four years in a row … everyone has seen a lot of him now and played a lot against him so they are able to pick him a lot easier.
“That’s a challenge from a wicket-taking point of view for him to now go up to a different gear.”
The Strikers have now had just one win from their opening five games, while the Heat is 2-3.
Heat skipper Jimmy Peirson won the bat flip and chose to bat first. Both sides entered the match with 1-3 records.
The Heat finished on 7-208 and eventually cruised across the line to record a 39-run win.