BBL 2025-26: Brisbane Heat pip Adelaide Strikers in a humdinger at the Gabba

The first of the Christmas weekend action saw the Brisbane Heat host the Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba on Saturday, December 27. Both the teams entered the match with a loss in their respective previous match and looked to turn things around. The visitors won the toss and elected to field first.

The Heat endured an early blow. Jack Wildermuth, who scored a heroic 110* two games ago, was out for a solitary run in the second over. Matt Renshaw joined Colin Munro and the southpaws took the innings forward. A mini onslaught was cut off abruptly by Luke Wood as Munro was bowled at 14 runs off eight balls.

Renshaw and Hugh Weibgen finished the powerplay for the Heat at 35/2. From there on, the pair found some momentum to be again clipped, this time with Weibgen's (10 off 11) wicket. Renshaw (33 off 21) and Max Bryant joined forces but the Strikers skipper Matthew Short struck again to dismiss the former.

Bryant (63 off 32) kept on charging through and was well-supported by Tom Alsop (10 off 14), Jimmy Peirson (13 off 10), and captain Xavier Bartlett (15 off 13) at various stages. The Heat finished the innings at a highly competitive 179/9. For the Strikers, Short, Wood, and Hasan Ali picked up two wickets each with Liam Scott and Lloyd Pope scalping one each.

The Strikers began the chase in earnest as Short and Chris Lynn (22 off 24) formed a 50+ run opening partnership. The duo scored boundaries at ease, laying a solid platform. But, the home team clawed their way back with three quick strikes. The visitors went from 57/0 to 64/3 and needed to rebuild the innings.

Short survived the mini wreckage and was joined by Harry Manenti in the middle. The latter counterattacked, scoring three consecutive fours off a Shaheen Shah Afridi over and the momentum shifted towards the Strikers. But, Manenti was bowled by Matthew Kuhnemann soon after leaving the door open wide again.

The visitors required one more partnership which they got through Short and Jerrssis Wadia (34 off 16). The latter struck three sixes and a four in his crucial stay to take his team closer to the target. Short (63 off 39), however, was left alone to do the bulk of the remaining work but he too succumbed at the death.

Short's wicket produced a collapse as the Strikers went from 156/5 to 172 all out. The Heat bowlers kept their calm to conjure up a hard-working win by seven runs in the end. For them, Bartlett (3/26) was the standout bowler, ably supported by Wildermuth and Thomas Balkin who picked up two wickets each. Kuhnemann and Renshaw, too, pitched in with a wicket each. Bartlett was adjudged as the Player of the Match.