‘Fresh ideas’ of new Heat coach to complement Brisbane’s existing winning methods

Having won last season’s BBL title, the Brisbane Heat will relish being the “hunted” in their 2024-25 campaign.

New Heat coach Johan Botha doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel at Brisbane, but his “fresh ideas” will be welcomed by the reigning BBL champions.

The Heat start the defence of their title on Wednesday night at the MCG against the Melbourne Stars under the guidance of former South Africa all-rounder Botha, who has replaced Wade Seccombe as coach of both Brisbane and the Queensland Bulls.

Heat star Colin Munro was pleased to be playing under a “really good coach” but said there wasn’t a need for too much change at Brisbane.

“I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to fix anything that’s not broken,” said Munro in reflecting on last season’s title win and the previous year’s effort to reach the BBL final.

“What’s worked for us in the last two years has worked really well, so we don’t want to chop and change too much.

“(Botha) is a really good coach, he’s coached around the world, especially in franchise and T20 tournaments … so he’s obviously got a lot of experience, but there are a lot of senior players in this group that know exactly how this group loves to play cricket.

“I don’t think (Botha) will come in and try to change too much, but it’s nice to have those fresh ideas.”

Heat star Colin Munro believes not too much needs to change at Brisbane. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

The Heat announced on Monday that they had added New Zealand’s most-capped international player, Ross Taylor, to their coaching staff.

Taylor has previously worked with Botha in a coaching capacity at the Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket.

“Ross is not long out of an outstanding playing career, and I am confident he will relate well to our batting group having seen him embark on his coaching career,’’ Botha said.

“I’m pleased to be working with Ross again. He and Colin Munro have a long association as well, and their knowledge and experience will also be important to our preparations.”

Sunday Sesh 🛠️#BBL14pic.twitter.com/Nad979YC7E

— Brisbane Heat (@HeatBBL) December 15, 2024

Munro, 37, promised the Heat would relish being the “hunted” this season.

“The last two years we’ve put ourselves in a position to be hunted, and it’s exciting for us as a group to embrace that challenge, and make sure that we still do exactly what we need to do,” he said.

And having missed Brisbane’s finals campaign last season due to playing commitments in the UAE, Munro will stay with Heat for the team’s entire 2024-25 campaign.

“As a cricketer, especially towards the back end of your career, you want to be playing in those big games and those big finals,” he said.