Heat stumble as Scorchers secure crucial BBL victory

The Perth Scorchers have arrested their losing streak in the BBL, beating the Brisbane Heat by 33 runs on Thursday in Perth.

Heading into the match, the Scorchers were narrow favourites to win across most cricket betting sites, despite having lost their last two matches in a row.

After losing the toss, they were put into bat first and navigated the bowling attack of Brisbane well to post a total of 6/165.

Opener Finn Allen again fell early, bagging a five-ball duck to go with his scores of 6, 4 and 0 already this season.

However, Matty Hurst (28 from 25) and Cooper Connolly (37 from 37) were much more assured, taking Perth to 1/62 before Hurst fell.

Aaron Hardie (24 from 23) and Ashton Turner (22 from 13) then came to the crease and made useful additions, but it was the fire power of Nick Hobson (47* from 16) that propelled the Scorchers at the back end of the innings.

The 30-year-old pummelled five sixes – including three off Xavier Bartlett in the final over – to drag Perth to a competitive total.

Spencer Johnson was by far the pick of the Brisbane Heat bowlers, taking 4/20 from his four overs.

His efforts were in vain, however, as the Heat’s top order crumbled with Tom Banton (7 from 6), Jimmy Peirson (1 from 7) and Colin Munro (6 from 13) all falling early.

A brief patch of resistance occurred when Matt Renshaw (36 from 24) and Max Bryant (35 from 20) dug in, but the comeback was short-lived as the visitors quickly folded for 132 all out from 19.4 overs.

The loss is Brisbane’s first of the season, with Big Bash bookmakers firming their title odds at $5.50, the third line of betting.

Perth Scorchers remain just ahead of them on $5 to win the title, as both now sit on four points on the BBL table.

Sports news