England quick marks BBL debut with four wickets inside the first three overs of Thunder’s defence of 196
Sydney Thunder 7 for 196 (Billings 64, Sangha 39, Swepson 2-27) beat Brisbane Heat 143 (Bartlett 42*, Mahmood 4-22, Sangha 3-26) by 53 runs
On debut for Thunder, English quick Mahmood became the first man in the BBL and only the 10th person in T20 cricket anywhere in the world to take four wickets inside the first three overs of an innings.
Mahmood couldn’t believe his luck when Jimmy Peirson clipped one to deep fine leg, giving him 4 for 9 from just 11 balls after his first delivery was sent to the boundary by Chris Lynn.
Lynn, Ben Duckett and Sam Heazlett all fell though, with the chase of the Thunder’s 7 for 196 looking all but over.
A horror run-out added to Heat’s misery, the hosts sinking to 5 for 15 inside the first three overs, before bowlers Xavier Bartlett and Mark Steketee combined for a BBL record 79-run eighth wicket stand.
That pair’s partnership came too late for Heat to even salvage the Bash Boost point, Steketee eventually falling just as a miracle comeback victory was being entertained.
Ross thought he’d found a boundary, but his lap sweep was well caught by wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson. He had deflected the ball past his off stump towards fine leg, but Peirson reacted incredibly well to pouch the catch in his left hand.
Tom Cooper entered the game as the Heat’s X-factor sub, in for Tom Abell after he jammed his hip while attempting an outfield catch in the second over.