Marquee recruit AB De Villiers says momentum could make Brisbane Heat unstoppable in race for BBL title
After playing a starring role on debut for Brisbane Heat, marquee recruit AB De Villiers says his new side can be unstoppable during the run home if they generate enough momentum in coming matches.
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AB de Villiers has urged his Brisbane Heat teammates to keep batting aggressively, claiming they could be unstoppable in the run to the Big Bash finals if everything clicks.
De Villiers made a classy start to his BBL career when he compiled a composed 40 from 32 balls in Brisbane’s seven-wicket win against the Strikers at the Gabba on Tuesday.
The Heat will face the Strikers again in Adelaide on Friday and have five more games to find their mojo before the BBL finals.
The Heat moved to fourth spot on the BBL ladder following Tuesday’s win, but have been inconsistent this summer on the back of questionable batting performances.
Brisbane has struggled to adapt to different match scenarios, with the franchise’s all-out attack producing incredible performances at times and drawing criticism at others.
But de Villiers said it was the type of approach which could help the Heat clinch a second BBL title if they fire at the right time of the tournament.
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“T20 cricket is a funny format,” the South African legend said.
“You get a bit of momentum and all seven batters look like the world’s best. When you don’t they look like headless chickens.
“That’s the nature of the beast. You need a bit of confidence and momentum.
“I’d like to think I can play a part in us getting a bit of momentum and confidence.
“Once the batting line-up clicks, we’ve seen it around the world in any T20 tournament, it’s hard to stop.”
The Heat are still searching for the right batting order with opener Max Bryant’s place in the team under the microscope.
Bryant was troubled by Strikers spinner Rashid Khan and has averaged 16 in nine matches this summer, with scores of 28 and 65 his only genuine contributions.
Middle order batsman Matt Renshaw was the star of Tuesday’s win with an unbeaten 52 (45) and relished batting alongside de Villiers, who has scored more than 20,000 international runs for South Africa.
“It was pretty surreal,” Renshaw said.
“A few of the shots he played I was in awe of. The backfoot punch over cover was unbelievably beautiful. I was pretty excited about that.
“He brought a lot of calmness which is really important for me as a young T20 guy. Feeding off him was pretty awesome.
“We need to get a bit of momentum playing Friday and Sunday (Renegades at the Gabba). We’ve got to repeat the effort in Adelaide.”
The de Villiers factor helped draw nearly 20,000 through the gates at the Gabba on Tuesday for the daytime fixture and could help the Heat sellout Sunday’s home game against the Melbourne Renegades.
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