McCullum, Lynn muscle Heat to easy win

McCullum, Lynn muscle Heat to easy win

Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn made a mockery of the 174-run target set in front of them by Hobart Hurricanes as the duo scored 109 in 8.5 overs to propel Brisbane Heat to a seven-wicket win at The Gabba in Brisbane in the Big Bash League game on Friday (December 30).

Heat lost Jimmy Peirson (1) in the second over when Stuart Broad had the right-hander caught at mid-off off a leading edge. That's when the carnage started as Tim Paine and his bowlers were sent on a leather hunt with more hits over the fence than to it. In what was the most dominant performance of the Big Bash so far, there was little the bowlers could against the might of the two seasoned pros.

While McCullum was quick on his feet and used his fast hands to flay the opposition, Lynn took a completely different approach. He muscled his way to an unbeaten 50-ball 84, a knock that included a hit straight out of the venue off Shaun Tait. By the time McCullum was caught at long-on off Cameron Boyce, Heat needed just 55 off 59 balls.

Hurricanes played to Lynn's strength and kept feeding him back of length deliveries around waist height on his body. The burly right-hander was happy to back away and tonk them towards the on side to punish the bowlers. When the bowlers did decide to put it outside off, they again erred on length and kept banging it short, giving Lynn a free license to open his arms. However, things could have been completely different had D'Arcy Short not dropped the right-hander at the mid-wicket fence when he was on 4.

McCullum's innings was a throwback to the old times as the former New Zealand captain gave the fans a glimpse of his belligerent best. Considering he has already retired from international cricket, this came as the perfect opportunity for the fans to experience such brutality on the field.

Earlier, Hurricanes did well to post a challenging total after suffering a mid-innings wobble. Though Hurricanes raced to 40 in just 3.4 overs, they lost their top order in this period to be reduced to 61 for 4.

Dan Christian (33) and Jonathan Wells (28) scored 60 for the fifth wicket to revive the innings before some late hitting amidst falling wickets took the team past the 170-run mark.

Brief scores: Hobart Hurricanes 173/9 in 20 overs (Daniel Christian 33, Jonathan Wells 28; Jack Wildermuth 2-26, Mark Steketee 2-29) lost to Brisbane Heat 174/3 in 16.2 overs (Chris Lynn 84*, Brendon McCullum 72; Stuart Broad 1-24) by seven wickets.