2018–19 Brisbane Heat WBBL season
# 2018–19 Brisbane Heat WBBL season

The 2018–19 Brisbane Heat Women's season was the fourth in the team's history. Coached by Peter McGiffin and captained by Kirby Short, the Heat finished third on the WBBL|04 ladder and qualified for the playoffs. In an "incredible" semi-final notable for a catch taken by Haidee Birkett on the last ball of the game, they defeated the Sydney Thunder to progress to their first championship decider appearance. In the final against the double-defending champions, the Sydney Sixers, Player of the Match Beth Mooney led an upset victory to secure Brisbane's maiden WBBL title.

## Squad

Each 2018–19 squad featured 15 active players, with an allowance of up to five marquee signings including a maximum of three from overseas. Under a new rule, Australian marquees were classed as players who held a national women's team contract at the time of signing on for their WBBL|04 team.

Personnel changes ahead of the season included:

* Holly Ferling, the Heat's first-ever player signing, departed the team and joined the Melbourne Stars.
* Barbadian marquee Deandra Dottin was not re-signed for another season.
* The resulting vacant marquee position was filled by South Africa's Suné Luus.
* Local teenage players Josie Dooley, Charli Knott and Courtney Sippel were added to the roster.

The table below lists the Heat players and their key stats (including runs scored, batting strike rate, wickets taken, economy rate, catches and stumpings) for the season.

| No. | Name | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | G | R | SR | W | E | C | S | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Batters ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Josie Dooley | 21 January 2000 | Right-handed | – | 9 | 137 | 116.10 | – | – | 2 | – | |
| 1 | Laura Harris | 18 August 1990 | Right-handed | – | 16 | 141 | 143.87 | – | – | 2 | – | |
| 8 | Charli Knott | 5 May 2003 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 10 | Kirby Short | 3 November 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 16 | 254 | 92.70 | 0 | 15.50 | 9 | – | Captain |
| 14 | Laura Wolvaardt | 26 April 1999 | Right-handed | – | 14 | 67 | 126.41 | – | – | 8 | – | Overseas marquee |
| All-rounders ||||||||||||||
| 17 | Grace Harris | 18 September 1993 | Right-handed | Right-arm off spin | 16 | 374 | 148.41 | 16 | 5.89 | 9 | – | |
| 58 | Sammy-Jo Johnson | 5 November 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 16 | 260 | 139.78 | 20 | 6.15 | 0 | – | |
| 21 | Jess Jonassen | 5 November 1992 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox | 16 | 248 | 117.53 | 15 | 6.93 | 5 | – | Australian marquee |
| 37 | Courtney Sippel | 27 April 2001 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium fast | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Wicket-keeper ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Beth Mooney | 14 January 1994 | Left-handed | – | 16 | 486 | 127.89 | – | – | 13 | 5 | Australian marquee |
| Bowlers ||||||||||||||
| 15 | Jemma Barsby | 4 October 1995 | Left-handed | Right-arm off spin | 16 | 46 | 139.39 | 14 | 7.03 | 3 | – | |
| 23 | Haidee Birkett | 23 June 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 12 | 15 | 115.38 | 5 | 6.76 | 6 | – | |
| 96 | Suné Luus | 5 January 1996 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | 9 | 27 | 87.09 | 5 | 7.05 | 2 | – | Overseas marquee |
| 11 | Delissa Kimmince | 14 May 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | 16 | 93 | 125.67 | 22 | 6.80 | 7 | – | |
| 16 | Georgia Prestwidge | 17 December 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium fast | 4 | 6 | 75.00 | 0 | 7.80 | 0 | – | |

## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Sydney Sixers (RU) | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 0.509 |
| 2 | Sydney Thunder | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 0.479 |
| 3 | Brisbane Heat (C) | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 1.118 |
| 4 | Melbourne Renegades | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 15 | −0.079 |
| 5 | Perth Scorchers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | −0.476 |
| 6 | Adelaide Strikers | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 11 | −0.336 |
| 7 | Melbourne Stars | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 11 | −0.905 |
| 8 | Hobart Hurricanes | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 | −0.364 |

* The four top ranked teams qualified for the semi finals

## Fixtures

All times are local time

### Regular season

* Match 3 2 December 2018 10:40 Scorecard

| Adelaide Strikers 7/172 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 2/136 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Sophie Devine 89 (55) Jemma Barsby 2/23 (4 overs) | | Beth Mooney 63* (57) Megan Schutt 1/23 (4 overs) |

* Adelaide Strikers won by 36 runs CitiPower Centre, St Kilda Umpires: Dale Ireland and Ben Treloar Player of the match: Sophie Devine (Adelaide Strikers)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 8 8 December 2018 14:50 Scorecard

| Perth Scorchers 8/103 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 3/104 (12.5 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Elyse Villani 45 (55) Sammy-Jo Johnson 2/9 (4 overs) | | Jess Jonassen 28* (17) Kate Cross 2/26 (2.5 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 7 wickets (with 43 balls remaining) North Sydney Oval No. 1 Umpires: Andrew Hamilton and Ben Treloar Player of the match: Sammy-Jo Johnson (Brisbane Heat)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 12 9 December 2018 14:50 Scorecard

| Sydney Thunder 4/192 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 164 (18.5 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Harmanpreet Kaur 56 (26) Sammy-Jo Johnson 2/30 (4 overs) | | Grace Harris 54 (28) Maisy Gibson 3/18 (3 overs) |

* Sydney Thunder won by 28 runs North Sydney Oval No. 1 Umpires: David Shepard and Marc Nickl Player of the match: Harmanpreet Kaur (Sydney Thunder)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to bat
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 19 16 December 2018 14:10 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 8/174 (20 overs) | v | Melbourne Renegades 7/153 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Sammy-Jo Johnson 31 (10) Molly Strano 4/21 (4 overs) | | Amy Satterthwaite 38 (33) Sune Luus 2/16 (2 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 21 runs Geelong Cricket Ground, Geelong Umpires: Greg Azzopardi and Daryl Brigham Player of the match: Molly Strano (Melbourne Renegades)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 21 19 December 2018 13:45 Scorecard

| Melbourne Stars 7/132 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 0/138 (10.5 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Angela Reakes 30 (30) Jess Jonassen 3/17 (4 overs) | | Grace Harris 101* (42) Georgia Elwiss 0/8 (1 over) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 10 wickets (with 55 balls remaining) The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: Steven Farrell and Stephen Dionysius Player of the match: Grace Harris (Brisbane Heat)
* Melbourne Stars won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 24 22 December 11:10 Scorecard

| Sydney Sixers 3/166 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 7/155 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Ellyse Perry 103* (64) Delissa Kimmince 1/25 (4 overs) | | Jess Jonassen 33 (27) Erin Burns 2/9 (2 overs) |

* Sydney Sixers won by 11 runs Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Umpires: Andrew Hamilton and Berend du Plessis Player of the match: Ellyse Perry (Sydney Sixers)
* Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 27 23 December 14:10 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 7/154 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Sixers 88 (18 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Sammy-Jo Johnson 51 (30) Erin Burns 3/20 (4 overs) | | Dane van Niekerk 25 (33) Sammy-Jo Johnson 3/23 (4 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 66 runs Hurstville Oval, Sydney Umpires: Roberto Howard and Berend du Plessis Player of the match: Sammy-Jo Johnson (Brisbane Heat)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 30 26 December 22:45 Scorecard

| Perth Scorchers 5/136 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 5/139 (19.2 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Meg Lanning 70 (56) Haidee Birkett 3/19 (4 overs) | | Beth Mooney 35 (28) Nicole Bolton 2/12 (4 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining) Optus Stadium, Perth Attendance:14,983 Umpires: Nathan Johnstone and Trent Steenholdt Player of the match: Haidee Birkett (Brisbane Heat)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Played as a double-header after a men's BBL match
* Match 36 30 December 13:50 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 129 (19 overs) | v | Hobart Hurricanes 5/133 (18.2 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Grace Harris 23 (12) Meg Phillips 3/16 (4 overs) | | Corinne Hall 48 (39) Grace Harris 3/23 (4 overs) |

* Hobart Hurricanes won by 5 wickets (with 10 balls remaining) UTAS Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Darren Close and Jeremiah Matibiri Player of the match: Corinne Hall (Hobart Hurricanes)
* Hobart Hurricanes won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 37 31 December 12:30 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 8/138 (20 overs) | v | Hobart Hurricanes 80 (16.3 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Josephine Dooley 44* (30) Meg Phillips 3/22 (4 overs) | | Mikayla Hinkley 16 (25) Jess Jonassen 2/11 (3 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 58 runs UTAS Stadium, Launceston Umpires: Muhammad Qureshi and Darren Close Player of the match: Grace Harris (Brisbane Heat)
* Hobart Hurricanes won the toss and elected to field
* Match 43 5 January 18:15 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 7/160 (20 overs) | v | Adelaide Strikers 7/117 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Josephine Dooley 48* (33) Sophie Devine 2/15 (2 overs) | | Sophie Devine 39 (37) Delissa Kimmince 3/21 (3 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 43 runs Harrup Park, Mackay Attendance: 5,650 Umpires: Steven Farrell and David Taylor Player of the match: Josephine Dooley (Brisbane Heat)
* Adelaide Strikers won the toss and elected to field
* The crowd of 5,650 set a new record for highest attendance at a standalone WBBL match
* Match 46 6 January 15:00 Scorecard

| Melbourne Renegades 3/143 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 118 (18.5 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Sophie Molineux 50 (52) Sune Luus 1/24 (3 overs) | | Beth Mooney 44 (31) Lea Tahuhu 3/13 (4 overs) |

* Melbourne Renegades won by 25 runs Harrup Park, Mackay Attendance: 2,563 Umpires: Steven Farrell and David Taylor Player of the match: Sophie Molineux (Melbourne Renegades)
* Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to bat
* Match 50 10 January 12:50 Scorecard

| Melbourne Stars 88 (19.5 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 3/91 (8.4 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Mignon du Preez 27 (35) Delissa Kimmince 4/18 (3.5 overs) | | Jess Jonassen 34* (14) Annabel Sutherland 1/23 (3 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 7 wickets (with 68 balls remaining) The Gabba, Brisbane Umpires: David Taylor and Claire Polosak Player of the match: Sammy-Jo Johnson (Brisbane Heat)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Match 53 12 January 18:15 Scorecard

| Sydney Thunder 7/171 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 7/172 (19.3 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Rachael Haynes 57 (51) Delissa Kimmince 2/23 (4 overs) | | Beth Mooney 102 (55) Harmanpreet Kaur 2/23 (3 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 3 wickets (with 3 balls remaining) Cazaly's Stadium, Cairns Attendance: 4,673 Umpires: Donovan Koch and Stephen Dionysius Player of the match: Beth Mooney (Brisbane Heat)
* Brisbane Heat won the toss and elected to field

Responding to the Sydney Thunder's first innings total of 7/171, Heat opener Beth Mooney recorded her maiden WBBL century but was then dismissed in the 17th over. With Brisbane still requiring 19 runs off the last twelve balls, Harmanpreet Kaur—having already claimed two wickets, including the stumping of Mooney, for just ten runs—came on to bowl her third over. The Heat, primarily through Delissa Kimmince, scored 13 runs off the over to swing the momentum once more. Laura Harris then hit the winning runs against the bowling of Nicola Carey with three wickets in hand and three balls remaining, making it Brisbane's highest successful run chase. The result helped to set up a semi-final encounter between the two teams on the following weekend.

### Knockout phase

* Semi-final 1 19 January 10:40 Scorecard

| Brisbane Heat 7/140 (20 overs) | v | Sydney Thunder 7/136 (20 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Sammy-Jo Johnson 33 (26) Stafanie Taylor 1/13 (2 overs) | | Rachel Priest 44 (33) Jemma Barsby 3/23 (2 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 4 runs Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Umpires: David Shepard and Darren Close Player of the match: Sammy-Jo Johnson (Brisbane Heat)
* Sydney Thunder won the toss and elected to field
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket

The lower-ranked Heat posted a first innings total of 7/140, recovering from 5/78 after 12 overs through an unbeaten knock of 32 from 25 by Laura Harris. After struggling through the middle overs of the run chase, a late charge by the Sydney Thunder brought the hosts back into the contest to leave a required five runs off the final delivery for victory. The last ball, sent down by spinner Jess Jonassen, was struck flat and cleanly to deep square leg by batter Nicola Carey. Jonassen immediately signalled disappointment as the ball set sail for beyond the boundary rope, therefore scoring six runs and clinching the match for Sydney... However, Brisbane fielder Haidee Birkett made enough ground in time to take a "miracle" catch just inside the field of play to knock the Thunder out of the tournament. The match, in conjunction with the other semi-final played later in the day, was hailed as a showcase of "the irrefutable rise of women's cricket" and "sport with drama, skill and unpredictability – a potent recipe for success".

* Final 26 January 10:10 Scorecard

| Sydney Sixers 7/131 (20 overs) | v | Brisbane Heat 7/132 (19.2 overs) |
| - | - | - |
| Ellyse Perry 33 (37) Grace Harris 3/23 (4 overs) | | Beth Mooney 65 (46) Erin Burns 2/25 (4 overs) |

* Brisbane Heat won by 3 wickets (with 4 balls remaining) Drummoyne Oval, Sydney Attendance: 5,368 Umpires: David Shepard and Donovan Koch Player of the match: Beth Mooney (Brisbane Heat)
* Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to bat
* Broadcast by Seven Network and Fox Cricket
* Brisbane Heat won their first title

In front of the league's first-ever sellout crowd, the visiting Heat pulled off an upset victory to win their maiden championship and deny a Sydney Sixers three-peat. Requiring 34 runs with 36 balls remaining, Brisbane looked to be in control of the chase until the 15th over when Sydney leg spinner Dane van Niekerk struck twice—including the removal of linchpin Beth Mooney for 65 through a forward-diving catch by Ellyse Perry in the outfield. Although the Heat would continue to lose wickets, Laura Harris did enough to steady the ship, eventually hitting the winning runs with three wickets and four deliveries to spare. Player of the Final Mooney, who had been receiving on-field medical treatment for the flu and heat stroke, revealed in a post-match interview that her ongoing game delays instigated sledging from several opponents: "It was kind of nice to know while I wasn't feeling well, I was going well enough to piss them off and they were getting frustrated at how long I was taking to face up... I've played enough cricket against (the Sixers) to know what gets under their skin and we definitely won that battle."

## Statistics and awards

* Most runs: Beth Mooney – 486 (3rd in the league)
* Highest score in an innings: Beth Mooney – 102 (55) vs Sydney Thunder, 12 January 2019
* Most wickets: Delissa Kimmince – 22 (equal 1st in the league)
* Best bowling figures in an innings: Delissa Kimmince – 4/18 (3.5 overs) vs Melbourne Stars, 10 January 2019
* Most catches: Grace Harris, Kirby Short – 9 each (equal 2nd in the league)
* Player of the Match awards:
   * Sammy-Jo Johnson – 4
   * Grace Harris, Beth Mooney – 2 each
   * Haidee Birkett, Josie Dooley – 1 each
* Heat Most Valuable Player: Sammy-Jo Johnson
* WBBL|04 Player of the Tournament: Grace Harris (3rd), Sammy-Jo Johnson (equal 4th)
* WBBL|04 Team of the Tournament: Grace Harris, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Delissa Kimmince
* Player of the Final: Beth Mooney
