Sydney Sixers 118 for 7 (Davies 35*, Kuhnemann 2-14, Patterson 2-32) beat Brisbane Heat 114 for 9 (Wildermuth 31, Davies 2-19, Abbott 2-25, Dwarshuis 2-25) by three wickets
Sydney Sixers went fourth on the BBL ladder after prevailing in a low-scoring thriller by three wickets against Brisbane Heat in Coffs Harbour.
It should have been a cakewalk for Sixers but Heat have shown this season that they are never beaten. Heat had Sixers 56 for 7 in the 11th over and at that point appeared on track to break the record set by Perth Scorchers in 2013-14 against Melbourne Renegades, when they defended 117 for 7. That total remains the lowest to have been successfully defended in the BBL.
Skipper Moses Henriques (26) slapped Jack Wildermuth to Kuhnemann and it got worse for Sixers when Matt Renshaw caught and bowled Ben Manenti to make it 56 for 7.
The 22-year-old Davies, who was magnificent with ball and bat, and Kerr then took control to saves Sixers’ blushes. “I’m pumped,” Davies said. “One of my goals for the year was to have a Man-of-the-Match performance and it was good to have it in such challenging conditions.”
Sixers and Heat are both on six points but the Sydney outfit have played one less match and have a far better net run rate. Brisbane have won all three of their home matches but are winless in their four away games and continued the win-loss sequence that has been the story of their summer.
Heat made the bold call to leave out experienced overseas signing Colin Munro and open with Lachlan Hearne but he made just 1. Wildermuth (31 off 17) went big in the powerplay with one of his two sixes launched 84m and out of the venue before he was cleaned up by Abbott.
Max Bryant was unable to replicate his Player-of-the-Match heroics of Saturday night. Dwarshuis removed him and skipper Nathan McSweeney in the same over as the Heat slumped to 50 for 4 in the eighth over.
Abbott, playing his 200th T20, was on song as he extended his margin as the BBL’s all-time leading wicket taker. Dwarshuis, considered unlucky to miss out on Australia’s T20 World Cup squad, was superb.
The unbeaten last-wicket stand of 23 by the Heat’s Patterson and Tom Balkin was their side’s second-best, highlighting their batting woes.
