Heat to turn to Marnus to help keep their BBL finals hopes alive
Fresh off a summer of superlatives, Marnus Labuschagne is set to be pitchforked into the struggling Brisbane Heat side to keep their finals hopes alive.
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Brisbane’s bash-or-bust batting order faces the axe with the arrival of run-scoring machine Marnus Labuschagne from Australia’s one-day international tour of India.
Labuschagne is set to be pitchforked straight into the Heat’s clash with the Sixers following his spectacular summer of cricket in both the Test and ODI arenas, averaging 63.43 and 50 respectively.
The 25-year-old will arrive home in Brisbane on Tuesday and now faces the prospect of going up against teammate and Sixers batter Steve Smith in what is billed to be a star-studded showdown at the Gabba on Thursday night.
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The axe is set to be wielded through the Heat’s batting line-up to accommodate Labuschagne’s return as the Brisbane side sit sixth on the BBL ladder, with three games left of the regular season.
The Big Bash’s new finals format will see the top five teams advance through to the finals, where fourth plays fifth in The Eliminator Round and first plays second in The Qualifier.
The Heat play the Sixers (currently 3rd), the Stars (1st) and the Renegades (last) in the run to the finals and can’t afford to drop another game to keep their finals hopes alive.
It comes after Sunday night’s horror show at the Gabba in which they capitulated for the worst 10-wicket collapse in the game’s history.
Four players were out for a duck and only Sam Heazlett (56 off 37), Chris Lynn (41 off 15) and Joe Burns (14 off 21) made double figures.
Heat captain Lynn was critical of his side’s “trainwreck” performance, admitting things needed to change.
“At this point of the year you tend to have optional (training) sessions,” Lynn told Channel 7.
“We were looking alright and then all of a sudden we’ll probably have guilty sessions, naughty-boy nets and probably running as well.”
Former Australian Test captain Ricky Ponting blasted the Heat’s poor performance on Sunday night and called for changes ahead of Thursday’s game.
“Disappointed with the Brisbane Heat batting tonight,” Ponting wrote on Twitter.
“These collapses happen all too often and it’s not good enough particularly from their senior players.
“Something has to change with their batting and I’m looking forward to being at the Gabba on Thursday to see what does.”
Indian captain Virat Kohli praised Labuschagne’s talent, after Australia’s 2-1 series loss on the subcontinent, admitting the Australian sensation could be a consistent world-class player.
“He’s very sure of what he wants to do,” Kohli said.
“Again, body language, intent, he’s there, he’s running hard between the wickets, he wants the ball, he wants to be in the important positions in the field.
“He’s got the right mindset to be a consistent player and to be a top player in the world for a while.”
BBL 2019-20 FINALS FORMAT
THURS JAN 30: The Eliminator: Fourth vs Fifth
FRI JAN 31: The Qualifier: First v Second
SAT FEB 1: The Knockout: Third v Winner of The Eliminator
THURS FEB 6: The Challenger: Loser of The Qualifier v Winner of The Knockout
SAT FEB 8: The Final: Winner of The Qualifier v Winner of The Challenger
Originally published as Heat to turn to Marnus to help keep their BBL finals hopes alive