Ashton Agar produced a stunning run-out that swept the Heat into the second Boxing Day BBL clash in Perth’s favour.
Watch every game of the BBL live on Kayo and ad-free while you play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
Match Center: Scorchers vs Heat live BBL scorecard, updates and more
Agar was able to dive to his right, grab the ball with one hand and, while still on his knees, throw the stumps, leaving former Brisbane captain Jimmy Peirson well short of the crease.
At that moment the massive Optus Stadium crowd went into a state of delirium.
“Gotcha!” Fox Cricket’s Brett Lee said:
“Direct hit! He tells you to pack your bags!
“It was a really good defensive play.
“Ashton Agar, say hello. wow!”
Fellow critic Steve O’Keefe said Agar changed the game with his brilliance.
“Move to the right very quickly, turn quickly and boom!” he praised.
“If that doesn’t get the crowd moving, nothing will.”
The run-out left Brisbane trailing by 166 points with a 2-22 win for the second time at Optus Stadium.
Provided by accountants
Former accountant Nick Hobson’s brilliant unbeaten knock lifted Perth to a competitive 6-165 in the second BBL Boxing Day clash.
Hobson drained 24 points from final Xavier Bartlett to lift Perth to a competitive total after another power play failure.
Fox Cricket’s Shane Watson labeled the Scorchers’ 1-18 win from their first four overs as “appalling” as they continued their worst performance in a BBL selection competition.
“They haven’t done much more than throw the ball in every powerplay they’ve had in this BBL and that’s a concern,” he said.
Import Finn Allen fails again. It has now been four failures in four matches to get out of the first over.
First failure…again
Finn Allen’s horror BBL14 curse continued as the star import failed to bowl the first over for the fourth consecutive match.
Opening against Perth in the second match of the BBL Boxing Day clash, Allen was left for his second duck in two games, a new low for the 25-year-old.
“Finn Allen, what do you think is going on in his head?” Fox Cricket’s Steve O’Keeffe said:
“Another duck, another miss inside the first over.”
Allen attempted to send back Heat star Spencer Johnson after four dot balls, but instead lobbed it down Mitchell Swepson’s throat.
“If he had tried to angle it and get through the cover, he would have definitely done it,” added Shane Watson.
“This is what happens when the run-rate is a little low. If you don’t watch the ball hit the bat, it can cause a bit of trouble.”
Allen began his BBL career with an opening six off Kiwi Adam Milne’s first ball in his first match in Perth. But he fell on the second ball.
That two-ball curse continued in his second game, when he hit four and was subsequently sent off against Hobart.
His third outing against the Scorchers ended with a three-ball duck.
According to the stats, Allen has now scored 10 runs from 12 balls in 4 matches.
Follow Scorchers vs Heat in our live blog below!
star return
Unbeaten BBL champions Brisbane Heat have star fast Spencer Johnson back in time for a Boxing Day blockbuster with the faltering Perth Scorchers.
Johnson returns after missing the first two games of the Big Bash season due to a toe injury following a breakout campaign in 2023/24 that helped the Heat win the title.
They won both games without him, while their opponents the Scorchers struggled on their pre-Christmas trip, losing to the Hurricanes and Renegades who had many of their stars unavailable due to Test squad requirements.
The same problem was magnified tonight with Josh Inglis coming out of the Perth team to join Jhye Richardson in the Australian team.
The Heat won on a bat flip and elected to bowl.
The match kicked off at 9:20pm (AEDT) at Optus Stadium.
final team
Perth Scorchers: Ashton Turner (c), Ashton Agar, Finn Allen (New Zealand), Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Matthew Hurst (England), Matt Kelly, Lance Morris, Andrew Tye.
In: Aaron Hardy
Out: Josh Inglis
Brisbane Heat: Colin Munro (c) (New Zealand), Tom Banton (England), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kunemann, Nathan McSweeney, Jimmy Pearson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson, Paul Walter (England).
In: Spencer Johnson, Tom Banton
Out: Jack Wildermuth, Tom Straker, Tom Whitney.
