'Glory after 11 years'- Fans react as Brisbane Heat win Big Bash League 2023-24 title after beating Sydney Sixers by 54 runs

Brisbane Heat defeats the Sydney Sixers in the BBL 13 final to become 2-time champions. Spencer Johnson was the hero of the match with his incredible 4-fer.

author-image
Sarah Andrew
New Update
heat

Brisbane Heat (Source: X)

The 13th edition of the Big Bash League(BBL) has finally got their champions of the season in the year 2023-24. This is the 2nd title for Brisbane Heat which they have won after 11 years where the first title was won way back in the 2012-13 season. The Heat along with their stand-in captain Nathan McSweeney will be celebrating this occasion with a lot of excitement. It was no doubt the best season for the Heat as they finished on top of the table with 7 wins and 1 loss from their 10 games and were the clear favourites to win the title going into the playoffs.

They had saved their best for last in the final against the Sydney Sixers who had also previously beaten them in the qualifier as well. This was a big challenge for the Heat as they were not only looking for redemption but also had to beat the Sixers at the Sydney Cricket Ground(SCG) to win the trophy for the second time. It was the hero from the challenger Josh Brown and Matt Renshaw who were the heroes with the bat and set a decent platform for the Heat and were supported with a couple of cameos from skipper Nathan McSweeney and Max Bryant to get them to a decent total of 166.

Spencer Johnson's masterclass in the 2nd innings

The SCG might be a tough wicket to bat on the day with the amount of Β grip and bounce the bowlers were getting, but the Heat still had to bowl well against this deep and dangerous batting lineup of the Sixers. The second innings is where the magic happened for the Heat where none of the Sixers batters could get going. It wasΒ Spencer Johnson who once again impressed everyone with the ball with his spell of 4/26 in 4 overs at an economy of just 6.5. The accuracy and natural seam movement from the 28-year-old left-arm pacer was a joy to watch for everyone. He had used the short ball to good effect on a wicket that was generating a lot of bounce.

The spell from Johnson was enough to give confidence to the other bowlers as well. Even the guile of Mitchell Swepson and the wicket-taking form of Xavier Bartlett was enough to get the Sixers bowled out for 112 and win the game by a big margin of 54 runs. This is a day that completely belonged to the Heat, who have proved themselves as one of the best teams in the BBL and are only the third team to win multiple titles. The Heat have played like a champion team since the beginning of the tournament and will be happy to achieve this feat after struggling for 11 years.

Here’s how the fans have reacted:

Spencer Johnson Big Bash league 2023-24 Sydney Sixers Brisbane Heat