BBL: Renshaw’s boundary seals last-ball thriller to keep Heat season alive

The Brisbane Heat have done what many thoughts was impossible, winning a thrilling Big Bash League semi-final against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG.

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They survived an incredible last over from Dwayne Bravo to seal an eight-run win and set up a grand final clash with Sydney Thunder in Hobart on February 17.

Renshaw finished with 72 not out as Brisbane Heat gave themselves a chance to defend their Big Bash title in the finals.

Renshaw finished with 72 not out, his innings the highest for Brisbane Heat in the match and also the tournament.

Brisbane Heat have a chance to defend their Big Bash title in the finals after defeating Melbourne Renegades by seven wickets at home on Saturday night.

The Heat had lost five wickets for just 25 runs when Renshaw joined Chris Lynn (79) at the crease, but they managed to keep their innings going.

Renshaw scored 72 not out and then came back in the next over and hit an unbeaten six to take his team past the target with five balls remaining. His innings included eight fours and one six, which helped him take his team past the 180-run mark before he was dismissed by Mitchell Marsh off Shane Watson’s delivery.

Western Suburbs Magpies began their run chase slowly but Marcus Stoinis (33) and Dom Kelly (44) shared a partnership of 74 to get them back into the match.

Stoinis, who was dropped at slip in the first over of his innings, scored his half-century from 29 balls with seven fours and two sixes before being bowled by Ben Cutting off one that kept low. Kelly hit three boundaries in his 44 from 45 deliveries as he got out on the last ball of the innings with Western Suburbs needing just three runs for victory.

Stoinis had scored his half-century from 29 balls when he was bowled by Ben Cutting, but it wasn’t enough as the Magpies fell short on 5-175.

Renshaw’s innings came after his team had been reeling at 2-35 and he admitted that he would have liked to have got more runs in the final match of their season.

“I was just trying to stay there as long as I could,” said Renshaw, who hit five boundaries and one maximum during his knock. “It was nice to get through those early stages and then try and build on that.”

It was another disappointing end for the Magpies after ending up second in BBL|08 and making the finals for the first time in club history.

“It’s frustrating to lose, but we’re happy with how we played during this tournament,” said captain Aaron Finch after Melbourne’s loss to Brisbane Heat at Optus Stadium on Friday night. “We’ve got a lot of positives out of this season.”

Finch scored 65 runs off 45 balls with five sixes and two fours while Jake Weatherald made 39 off 34 balls with one six and four fours as they were able to push their side towards victory until Renshaw sealed things with his boundary hit off Ben Dwarshuis’ bowling that won his team $30,000 prize money from Harvey Norman’s Last Ball thriller competition.

Brisbane Heat beat Western Suburbs by one wicket

The Brisbane Heat were in trouble early on when they lost three wickets for just 33 runs after the first six overs. However, a partnership between Renshaw and Brendon McCullum turned things around as they hit 77 runs in the last 10 overs to seal their victory over Western Suburbs Magpies by one wicket.

Western Suburbs bowled first and scored 175 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs with Daniel Fallins scoring 64 off 55 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes while Ben Rohrer made 53 off 41 balls with 7 fours. In reply, Brisbane Heat could only manage 176 runs for 5 wickets in 19.4 overs but won thanks to Chris Lynn’s unbeaten knock of 91 (76) off 51 balls which included 3 sixes and 8 fours

Conclusion

The win keeps the Heat’s season alive, as they look to defend their BBL title. They will face the first-placed Hobart Hurricanes in the semi-finals, with that match taking place at Blundstone Arena on February 22nd.

Spectacler