Both teams will come face to face for finals at Saturday evening. The Optus Stadium has a sold out crowd, it is expected that there a high voltage final show.
Brisbane Heat is a team of underdogs. Three weeks ago, the team was struggling to find a place in top 6, now they have cruised to the finals. Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw changed the Heat’s fate in two weeks.
One of them consistently came on top and changed the course of the match. They failed only against Hobart Hurricanes where they were chasing 120 runs. It’s not their batting that is stronger than ever but bowling unit.
Spencer Johnson has come out of nowhere and has become find of the tournament. He can consistently bowl around 145 kph and the Optus pitch will surely suit his high voltage pace.
Michael Neser is another experienced name who is taking wickets in the powerplay and powe surge. One of the top order batsman will need to get going to impose some pressure on Perth Scorchers bowling attack.
For Perth Scorchers, there are no worries. They have already defeated the Heat side two times in this season. Everyone is playing by their roles and team is perfectly settled to overcome any kind of unwanted situation.
Josh Inglis has struggled in past few matches but he will fancy his chances against Brisbane Heat bowling. The spinners of Brisbane Heat will possess no threat to the Scorchers, they have done well against spinners so far.
Perth Scorchers will be without Jhye Richardson, the prime pacer sustained an injury two weeks ago and still hasn’t recovered from it. But they have still one of the best pace attack.
Veteran Andrew Tye has already made his mark, being the most successful bowler for the team. Lance Morris will miss the finals due to national duty against India. Peter Hatzoglou in expected to make a place in the team while Jason Behrendorff as always will lead the attack.
Perth Scorchers appears too strong a team to face a loss at their home ground. But finals are a different kind of event, previous records and performances are only good for lessons while on the day, it’s battle between two of the best teams that have come through.
10 years ago Brisbane Heat defeated Perth Scorchers in Perth to lift the title for the first time. The memory will play a huge role for both teams as Brisbane Heat would like to end their 2022-23 season with a historical victory.