Big Bash League: Brisbane Heat defeated Sydney Sixers, but the controversy around the amazing catch continues
Josh Brown made his own Cooper Bison batsmen and showed he could handle them, too, as he fired the Gabba with a spine-tingling half-century in the Brisbane Heat's 15-run win over the Sydney Sixers
Brisbane Heat defeated Sydney SixersThe match had a sensational ending when Heat all-rounder Michael Neser caught Jordan Silk (41 off 23 balls) in the 19th over.
After reaching the ball inside the boundary ropes but being unable to complete the catch, Neser threw the ball in the air, went out of bounds, jumped to throw the ball up again in the air and ended the catch inside the boundary ropes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is fascinating. <br><br>Out? Six? What's your call? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BBL12?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BBL12</a> <a href="https://t.co/v22rzdgfVz">pic.twitter.com/v22rzdgfVz</a></p>— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBL/status/1609514038337368076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The 29-year-old Brown's whirlwind innings had scored 62 off just 23 balls in the Heat's 5-224.
With a valiant effort, the Sixers attempted to match the BBL record most runs, but were unable on the penultimate delivery for 209.
With a bat he constructed himself, Brown gave the Heat the particular pitch they needed to kick off their season in front of 23,689 spectators.
In his second game for BBL, he scored the fifth-fastest run in Heat history in just 19 innings.
Brown crossed the line six times with a series of dazzling hits.
The Heat opener has been working with the founder of Cooper Cricket, Rod Grey. He has made hundreds of Cooper bats and repaired thousands for his fellow cricketers.
Twenty20 franchises around the world will no doubt continue to inquire about Brown.
All-rounder Nathan McSweeney (84 off 51 balls) scored his first half-century on BBL to take the Heat to their highest score on BBL.
Sixers openers Josh Philippe (27) and James Vince (41) set a new franchise record with 54 runs in the four overs of the powerplay.
Silk and all-rounder Hayden Kerr (27) scored 54 runs off 26 balls for the sixth wicket, but Jimmy Peirson's brilliant stumping success with off-spinner Matt Kuhnemann (2-31) was crucial.
The user's catch to dismiss Silk was the decisive moment in the recovery after he took 3-41.
Player of the match: Josh Brown was named man of the match for his outstanding innings. He scored 62 off 23 balls with six maximums
Brisbane Heat squad
Playing - Colin Munro, Josh Brown, Nathan McSweeney, Sam Billings, Ross Whiteley, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson (c & wk), James Bazley, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson, Mark Steketee
Bench - Max Bryant, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson
Sydney Sixers squad
Playing - Josh Philippe (wk), James Vince, Daniel Hughes, Moises Henriques (c), Daniel Christian, Jordan Silk, Hayden Kerr, Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Izharulhaq Naveed, Ben Dwarshuis.
Bench - Kurtis Patterson, Jack Edwards, Todd Murphy, Naveen-ul-Haq,