BBL09: Comment: Why the Brisbane Heat needs a Big Bash rocket

The Big Bash all started out as a hit and giggle eight years ago, and the Heat’s impetuous approach to the game shows that attitude hasn’t changed in Brisbane, writes Jeremy Pierce.

NO wonder they call it hit and giggle.

Because right now the Brisbane Heat are just about the biggest joke in Queensland sport.

Has a Queensland sporting team ever promised so much and yet delivered so little?

While the women’s team has gone back-to-back in winning the WBBL, it is now seven years since the Heat’s men’s team won the Big Bash League.

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Since then, no team has missed the finals more than Brisbane and only the lowly Sydney Thunder – who won the comp four years ago, has a worse overall record.

If the Broncos put in a performance like the one we saw from the Heat on the Gold Coast last night, there would be calls for mass sackings.

English import Tom Banton of the Heat reacts after being dismissed. Picture: Dave Hunt

When the Titans play that bad, there are calls to kick them out of the comp.

But while Heat captain Chris Lynn conceded that last night’s performance was ‘embarrassing’, more often than not there doesn’t seem to be any real pain in defeat.

“We’re playing a really entertaining brand of cricket, ya know,” the players and coaches shrug.

And this old chestnut: “We just want to have fun out there.”

Well guess what?

It’d be a lot more fun if you won some bloody games.

While it very much started out as a ‘hit and giggle’, with an emphasis on family fun and entertainment, the Big Bash is big business now.

The Heat were at the forefront, turning over a seven-figure profit in an era when most sporting teams rely on grants from governing bodies just to survive.

The early days of the Brisbane Heat were about huge crowds and huge scores. Picture: Darren England

The Heat were the hottest ticket in town, their crowds bigger than the Broncos as TV audiences surged past the million mark.

But the Big Bash’s bloated schedule (there are now almost twice as many games as there were three years ago) has left summer’s prize dish overcooked and underwhelming.

A bad loss can be brushed off by players who know they’ll get another chance in a couple of days’ time.

But if they want the fans to be emotionally (and financially) invested, then the players should at least make it look like they give a stuff.

Last night I spent almost $200 to take the family to Metricon Stadium to watch the Heat roll over in the sort of limp and lame performance that has become their trademark.

If I’d spent that much on a restaurant that dished up that sort of quality, I’d ask for my money back.

I’ve long been a sucker for the Heat’s ‘fearless’ brand of cricket and go to two or three home games a year.

Chris Lynn has become an all or nothing player for the Heat. Picture: Mark Evans

I was at the Gabba when Lynn smacked Shaun Tait out of the park on his way to a stunning century in a thrilling run chase against the Hobart Hurricanes in 2015.

It was an incredible game and the Gabbatoir was pumping in a way not seen since the heady days of the Brisbane Lions at the start of the millennium.

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Lynn is arguably Queensland sport’s favourite son, the closest thing we have to a Don Bradman or Sachin Tendulkar where vast crowds turn up just to watch him bat.

A loveable larrikin who slogs with swagger, Lynn has inspired his team to come along for the ride and they throw caution to the wind with frenetic fury.

It’s great when it comes off … which is not very often.

The Lynnsanity generated from a Lynn masterclass is outweighed by the INsanity of watching Heat batters throw their wickets away time and time again with reckless abandon.

There’s an Albert Einstein quote about the dictionary definition of insanity, where you do the same thing over and over and expect a different result.

And the Heat follow it to the letter.