A 21-year-old debutant rose to the occasion to help guide the Brisbane Heat to victory in front of a noisy Gabba crowd
Debutant Brisbane quick Tom Balkin delivered a double-wicket final over as the Heat beat Adelaide in a Gabba Big Bash League roller-coaster.
The Heat set the Strikers 180 to win on Saturday and were in the box seat until second-gamer Jerrssis Wadia (34 off 16) hit three sixes and a four from his first four balls to leave the visitors needing 36 off 30.
But the Heat took 5-16 in the final three overs, 21-year-old Balkin (2-30) called on to bowl the 20th over after star recruit Shaheen Afridi had limped off with a bruised knee.
The rookie, hitting speeds in excess of 145km/h, had Hassan Ali caught with his first ball, fooled Harry Nielsen with slower balls off his next two, then claimed his wicket with the penultimate delivery for a seven-run win.
Balkin, wearing No.95 in a nod to childhood favourite Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars, overcame a stress fracture in his shin in the offseason to be fit for a BBL start.
“(My heart rate was) very high all night, to be honest,” the former Australian under-19 paceman said post-game.
“I’ve been coming here since I was really young … to play against guys like Chris Lynn that I was looking up to … in a packed house.
“Just to be back on the field is great; it feels like longer than nine months.”
Victory improved the Heat to 2-2, while the Strikers fell to 1-2.
Rookie captain Xavier Bartlett (3-26) was named player of the match, while Australian spinner Matt Kuhnemann (1-23) didn’t concede a boundary in his four overs.
Jack Wildermuth (2-59) was hit to all four corners of the Gabba by Wadia but returned to take his wicket.
Bartlett turned the screws when he dismissed Matt Short (63 off 39) just as the Strikers looked home.
Short (2-13 from three overs) had earlier put the brakes on the Heat, picking up the in-form Matthew Renshaw (33 off 22).
But Max Bryant (63 off 32) got going and the home side scrambled to a defendable total.
Heat import Tom Alsop also hurt his knee while batting and didn’t field in the second innings.
“As a young captain in those moments there’s a lot of senior heads to calm you down, but I thought Tom Balkin on debut was unbelievable, to close it out,” Bartlett said.
“He’s going to be a really good bowler for us.”
