Cricket, BBL signings: Brisbane Heat cult hero Josh Brown to be poached by Renegades on big deal

BBL champions the Brisbane Heat are resigned to losing Big Bash sensation Josh Brown, with the power-hitting star stolen away on a massive four-year deal.

The Brisbane Heat is resigned to losing power-hitting Big Bash cult hero Josh Brown to a large four-year contract with the Melbourne Renegades.

Brown, 30, was the talk of the Big Bash after smashing a sensational 140 off 57 balls in this year’s semi-final against the Strikers then 53 off 38 against the Sydney Sixers in the final as the Heat stormed to its second title.

Even before that it was believed the Renegades were desperate to lure Brown to Melbourne and the Heat, which offered him a shorter but still substantial deal, is bracing itself for Brown’s shock departure next summer.

Late-blooming Brown earned his first contract with the Heat two summers ago on the back of a rampaging season in the KFC T20 Max competition, which is a feeder competition for the Big Bash.

Josh Brown was a powerhouse hitter who helped deliver the Heat’s second title. Picture: Getty

In nine matches for Norths, he smacked 447 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 211.8, including 41 sixes.

Heat fans enjoyed the battler-made-good story, including the fact that Brown was a batmaker who worked at the Cooper Cricket Warehouse in northern Brisbane, where he often repaired bats for Heat teammates.

Brown surged from out of the blue to become the ideal top-order replacement for Chris Lynn, who joined the Adelaide Strikers.

His form in the final stages of the Big Bash won him a contract in the Bangladesh Premier League.

Originally published as Cricket, BBL signings: Brisbane Heat cult hero Josh Brown to be poached by Renegades on big deal