- Updates from the opening day at the Gabba
- Any thoughts? Email or tweet @GeoffLemonSport
The inevitable arrives. Australia win the Test at nine down, with Kumara injured and unable to bat. It was always likely to be too much for Sri Lanka, batting in such unfamiliar conditions against decent pace, and so it proved: bowled out for under 150 in both innings.
Patrick Cummins is the star of the show, with ten wickets in a Test match for the first time. “He is a bowler and all-rounder to absolutely savour,” says Alison Mitchell, and my word he is. The first innings he took 4 for 39, the second 6 for 23, his best innings figures by a handful of runs and his best match figures by one wicket.
50.5 overs: Sri Lanka 137-8 (Chameera 5) “I love it when a tailender swaps his gloves. It’s my favourite part of a day.” Wry from Stuart Clark on ABC radio. Lakmal is feeling more and more like a batsman with each passing delivery. He’s facing Lyon and pops up a ball on the leg side but short leg can’t dart far enough down the pitch to get there. Lakmal connects with a sweep next ball and gets a couple to the deep, with Joe Burns making a good tumbling save. So Lakmal tries to go down the ground, skipping down the wicket, but misses and Paine does the rest.
All over. #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/DXJ7KoTpkE
50th over: Sri Lanka 137-8 (Lakmal 22, Chameera 5) Same field for Starc, as Sri Lanka push this innings into a 50th over. They’re still 51 runs behind, so no chance of avoiding an innings defeat with this pair being effectively the last. But Lakmal will give it a go! Starc bowls 146 kilometres per hour, but it’s short and wide and Lakmal utterly middles his cut shot to the eastern boundary.
That gives him confidence, too much perhaps, as he tries a back-foot square drive from a fuller ball to the same point on the rope. Degree of difficulty: beyond you, Suranga. So Lakmal gets a good stride in to the next ball and slams it down the ground for four! Fetched it a bit, but with a fairly straight bat, and so the drive screamed away in the air past Travis Head at mid off for four more.
49th over: Sri Lanka 128-8 (Lakmal 13, Chameera 5) Cummins wants that seventh, but he bowls short and wide. There’s no point (specific cricket statement or general life statement?) so Lakmal cuts without much timing but with decent placement to get three runs out to the western side of the ground. Chameera hops up on his toes with a very straight-batted defensive stroke. Sri Lanka’s lower order has at least made Australia sweat today instead of just giving in. Now it’s Chameera picking up a three, as he strides forward and drives hard into the ground and out through cover. Big gap there: three slips, gully, mid off, mid on, leg gully, short leg, fine leg. It nearly carries to the leg gully as Lakmal gloves a pull, but the ball goes finer than that for one.
48th over: Sri Lanka 121-8 (Lakmal 9, Chameera 2) Starc can’t take a trick today. Finally gets an edge, Lakmal going hard at the ball, but it carries over Labuschagne at slip. Starc is frustrated, sprinting in again and letting go. He is bowling heattoday, reading 145 for a very short ball.
47th over: Sri Lanka 116-8 (Lakmal 4, Chameera 2) Cummins essays a bouncer, but Chameera is able to evade it. Then nearly squares up the batsman for a leading edge to cover, but Chameera is just in position enough to see the ball head groundwards. It’s a maiden, but Cummins is tiring, his pace down around 137 kph. He’s bowled 14 overs, 8 maidens, 6 for 16. That’s drinks.
46th over: Sri Lanka 116-8 (Lakmal 4, Chameera 2) Starc just can’t get into the action. Attacking the stumps, but Lakmal takes advantage of that by driving a couple through the covers, then squeezing two more past his stumps. Lakmal seems keen to spare Chameera from facing the fastest Australian.
45th over: Sri Lanka 112-8 (Lakmal 0, Chameera 2) If Cummins thought he had a seventh wicket coming, Chameera defuses that by knocking the ball square for two runs, and easing back for two on his sore ankle. End of the over.
What. A. Catch. Kurtis Patterson hasn’t had too much to do in this match, but he’s got himself on the highlights reel for now and possibly years to come. Cummins to Perera, and the ball stops a bit in the pitch. The check-drive arrives too soon, and the thick edge lobs a bit over gully. Or it should be over, but Patterson lets loose his moorings and gets airborne. He’s a lanky, plasticine type of human, and he unrolls one long arm. Clasps the ball in one hand, then does an arm-flung swan dive as he descends to earth. Outstanding.
Tough resistance from Perera ends, and Cummins equals his career best with six wickets. Has a great chance to go one better.
44th over: Sri Lanka 110-7 (Perera 8, Lakmal 0) Starc from the Vulture Street end. He is still bowling heat, folks, 145.9 then up to 147.2. Perera has handled him pretty competently, though it’s not always comfortable: one crashes into the thigh pad, then after a leg bye Lakmal gets another on the ankle. I’m sporting a lush fig-coloured thigh bruise from last weekend facing a bowler who probably topped out at 55 kilometres an hour, so wearing triple that would be unpleasant no matter how many metres of padding were worn.
43rd over: Sri Lanka 109-7 (Perera 8) The Australians are getting a bit frustrated by this partnership. The umpire signals to Paine to do a bit less talking and a bit more bowling. Richardson does, erupting in an appeal after hitting Dickwella’s pad, but from a right-armer swinging the ball over the wicket into a left-hander, it probably hit the pad outside the line of leg stump and swinging further down. So Richardson bowls outside off, and Dickwella slogs that away through midwicket. That was a proper park shot, leaning and tonking. Dickwella drops to his knees while trying to uppercut the next ball, ending up falling over on his back. Then the last of the over is short outside leg, Dickwella drops his knees to get under it and tries to lift it over fine leg, but he slaps it too low and Head at backward square takes the overhead catch.
42nd over: Sri Lanka 105-6 (Dickwella 20, Perera 8) Mitchell Starc is back, with 0 for 35 from his nine overs. He’s been a bit of a Four N Twenty vendor today. A terrifyingly fast one, but as per a Hilltop Hoods song, “all over the shop like bar codes.”
He’s getting even faster this over. The scoreboard lights up as he clocks a delivery at 150 kilometres per hour. But Perera calmly dinks it square for two. The deliveries either side of that one are almost as fast.
41st over: Sri Lanka 102-6 (Dickwella 19, Perera 6) Pat Cummins wins some more fans by returning a couple of beach balls to the crowd. Dickwella wins some by uppercutting Richardson over the slips for four. Paine wins some with a brilliant take as Richardson swings one wide of Perera.
40th over: Sri Lanka 97-6 (Dickwella 14, Perera 6) Perera is showing some fight. Gets well in behind another over from Cummins and blocks him out. Word filtering through that Lahiru Kumara has a bad hamstring tear and is out of the series. Probably won’t bat today. Chameera has an ankle problem so I don’t know if he’ll bat either. Not much point in either batting, though Australia leg-spinner Kristen Beams on the radio is suggesting that there’s a point to prove if players take any opportunity to front up for their country with the bat.
39th over: Sri Lanka 97-6 (Dickwella 14, Perera 6) Jumping Jhye Richardson comes in for a bowl. Perera glances a single early in the over. Richardson inverts his line to Dickwella, round the wicket to the lefty and hanging the ball wide. Dickwella doesn’t go, until Richardson drops short and the batsman misses another enthusiastic hook.
That’s drinks.
38th over: Sri Lanka 96-6 (Dickwella 14, Perera 5) Cummins searching for a sixth. He’s been there twice before in Test cricket: on his debut in 2011 and a couple of weeks ago in Melbourne. Nearly takes Perera’s edge but misses by a micron. Perera taps another single to escape.
The more discussion I hear about Thirimanne’s dismissal, the more it sounds like a horrible blunder. The full name for the technology is RTS, standing for Real Time Snicko. Meaning the sound waves and image have to match up. That’s how it works. So for an umpire to suddenly decide that a lag of frames is possible, that throws the validity of all RTS decisions out the window.
37th over: Sri Lanka 95-6 (Dickwella 14, Perera 4) Dilruwan is doing a decent sensible job, knocking a single into the leg side. Dickwella drives a couple through the covers. But by over’s end, he can’t help throwin the bat at Starc, and drags a big edge past his own stumps for four.
36th over: Sri Lanka 88-6 (Dickwella 8, Perera 3) Cummins bowls, through Perera, as one jags a bit off the surface. It beats Paine too for a bye. Dickwella defends a back-of-a-length delivery. Phil Tufnell on ABC Grandstand is discussing Dickwella’s appeals as a wicketkeeper: “He’s like a little jack-in-the-box. Pops up, both arms out, jazz hands.” Cummins completes a maiden.
35th over: Sri Lanka 87-6 (Dickwella 8, Perera 3) The Battle of the Loose Units here with Dickwella versus Starc. Some wild deliveries, short and leg and off and all over. Some wild shots, hooks and near misses. All of two singles off the over.
34th over: Sri Lanka 85-6 (Dickwella 7, Perera 2) So Cummins has figures of 5 for 11.Dilruwan Perera comes out, the all-rounder whose thumb was smushed by Cummins in the first innings. He’s bravely facing up again. And makes those figures 5 for 13 as he drives a couple square. Then Cummins bowls a wild bouncer that concedes four byes.
Five wickets for Cummins! Caught behind. Though the batsman has reviewed this. let’s see...
Now this is truly bizarre. There’s nothing on Snicko as the ball passes the bat. Then two frames later there’s a tiny spike. The spike happens just as the ball passes his back elbow as Thirimanne pushed at the ball. So to me it looks like the spike is coming from a clip of the elbow. But third umpire Michael Gough says he’s happy that the lag of two frames is due to the two bits of equipment not being totally synced, and therefore the spike is due to the bat. I’ve never heard that before, and usually we treat Snicko evidence as simultaneous between vision and sound.
33rd over: Sri Lanka 79-5 (Thirimanne 32, Dickwella 7) Starc to start up after tea, and he’s operating at decent pace very quickly. Dickwella makes use of that velocity to glance it to fine leg for four.
Thanks Adam. The first short break of the day is done, and what will likely be the last stanza of Sri Lankan resistance is about to commence. Though as the West Indies have proved the last couple of days, unfancied teams can still do extraordinary things sometimes.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 74-5 (Thirimanne 31, Dickwella 3)Lyon gets to his mark just before the clock strikes 3pm to see if they can squeeze another wicket out before the break. It’s not to be, despite a couple of close calls. Dickwella was off the mark with a sweep second ball but the same stroke nearly brought him undone next up, nobody where the ball dropped round the corner at short fine. Thirimanne - who is somehow still there, having watched five wickets from the non-strikers’ end - pushes one to point. Dickwella then kept things interesting to the end, missing Lyon’s straight one, but it was missing the woodwork.
With that, Sri Lanka reach tea having lost four wickets in the opening stanza, Pat Cummins and Jhye Richardson both magnificent, the former picking up three in a hurry, the latter bending back the off-stump just before the break. I’ll leave you with Geoff from here, the Test, in all likelihood, finishing while he’s on the tools. If that is the case, thanks for your company this week and I’ll talk to you in Canberra!
Quite brilliant! Richardson, deserved Dhananjaya’s wicket earlier in the over with a delightful outswinger that missed his edge by a coat of varnish. But to finish, another outswinger beat the bat and crashed into the off-stump. It doesn’t get much better than that for a new fast bowler in his first Test Match.
31st over: Sri Lanka 69-5 (Thirimanne 30)
Knocked him over! Jhye Richardson with another beauty #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/8clPx4U65v
30th over: Sri Lanka 69-4 (Thirimanne 30, Dhananjaya 14) Unsurprisingly, Lyon is on for a quick pop in the place of Starc before the tea interval. Dhananjaya looks to get forward with the spinner coming over the wicket, so he changes it up mid-over. It nearly works, the batsman not middling a push down the ground, the shout of catch going up when the ball sailed through the vacant midwicket region.
29th over: Sri Lanka 66-4 (Thirimanne 30, Dhananjaya 11) So close! Richardson has been relentless throughout his two spells this afternoon and nearly got the reward, Dhananjaya having a pop at the bouncer, landing just in front of Starc at long leg. That’s twice in two overs that this stroke has nearly brought his demise - time to do as Steve Waugh did and put it away. Perhaps not for a decade as the former Australian captain elected to, but you get my point.
There you go... pic.twitter.com/TA0KRzhZw1
28th over: Sri Lanka 65-4 (Thirimanne 30, Dhananjaya 10) Starc is down the legside twice more, a full toss and a bouncer - a good one, nearly landing with the man at short leg - part of the over as well. Stuart Clark asks Jim Maxwell if he would have him playing in the first Ashes Test. “Not at Edgbaston,” replied the veteran caller. “I’d play someone likely to bowl more consistently with the Dukes ball.”
27th over: Sri Lanka 63-4 (Thirimanne 28, Dhananjaya 10) An exercise in contrast with Starc to Richardson, the latter in the middle of another accurate spell. It prompts a messy attempt from Dhananjaya to pull a bouncer, lucky to miss the ball rather than top edge it. Quite rightly, he defends and leaves the rest.
26th over: Sri Lanka 62-4 (Thirimanne 27, Dhananjaya 10) I said last night that I don’t mind Starc’s volatility, arguing that it doesn’t seem to prevent him taking plenty of wickets. But this is... not pretty. Much as it was in Adelaide, there is no doubt that there will be plenty of scrutiny on this brief spell when this match comes to an end. Of course, an unplayable is in there as well, beating Dhananjaya with one that spits off the turf, leaving the right-hander then beating his edge. But before it was the half-volley and later a half tracker, followed by four byes down the legside and four leg byes off the hip from another wayward offering. “It’s like a golfer who isn’t putting well,” notes Jim Maxwell on ABC. “Everyone wants to tell you how to fix what you are doing.”
25th over: Sri Lanka 53-4 (Thirimanne 24, Dhananjaya 8) Richardson back for a second spell and he’s right on it, prompting an pleave from Dhananjaya within a couple of balls. The No6 gets his feet moving later in the over, striking a nice drive, but it is cut off at cover. Pulling back his length, the man on debut finds the edge to finish, landing just short of the four catchers behind the wicet. He deserves one.
24th over: Sri Lanka 53-4 (Thirimanne 24, Dhananjaya 8) Starc oversteps to begin, in keeping with the volatile theme from him in this Test, and they take a leg bye after the delivery balloons into the legside off his body. Dhananjaya is leaving then driving, neatly, down the ground for three. He’s in good touch. Singles are then exchanged into the legside before a bumper to finish, ducked by Thirimanne.
If Australia had a wicketkeeper from New South Wales, Nathan Lyon's nickname would be Cliffy #AUSvSL
23rd over: Sri Lanka 46-4 (Thirimanne 23, Dhananjaya 4) Good footwork from Dhananjaya, taking one to mid-on. Later, Thirimanne also gets a single, albeit off the inside portion of the bat. Lyon isn’t far away when the left-hander is on strike.
What a difference a decade makes. Drummoyne Oval 2009 Women’s WORLD CUP match; 2019 Women’s DOMESTIC final #sellout#WBBLFinal#WBBL04#7Cricket@CricketAuspic.twitter.com/NBKnHreW5c
22nd over: Sri Lanka 44-4 (Thirimanne 22, Dhananjaya 3) Cummins does get a rest, at the end of a mighty spell: 8-5-11-4. Starc’s turn and he finishes with a beaut to Thirimanne, beaten outside the off stump. Before it, four deliveries were scored from as the left-armer tried to find his mark, Thirimannne clipping three then bumped accurately, Dhananjaya a grabbing couple of singles behind square.
21st over: Sri Lanka 38-4 (Thirimanne 18, Dhananjaya 1) Another maiden for Lyon, his third in five overs so far. Dhananjaya is playing him carefully, starting his innings well. Of course, he has a ton against Australia at Test level from 2016 at Colombo, so he is right to bring a bit of confidence into this series.
Pat Cummins has been unplayable so far in this innings. He has induced a false shot off 38% of his deliveries with the batsmen attacking only 2 out of the 42 balls. #AUSvSL
20th over: Sri Lanka 38-4 (Thirimanne 18, Dhananjaya 1) Thirimanne gets off the mark first ball of the new Cummins over, albeit for an inside edge but that matters little at this stage. Dhananjaya’s turn, and he’s off the mark first ball, to fine leg too. Thirimanne does the rest of the heavy lifting, managing to avoid the temptation of a couple of balls in his driving arc. Might that be the end of his spell?
Meg Lanning is on ABC and she raised the name of Sammy-Jo Johnson, from the victorious Brisbane Heat, as a potential inclusion for Australia when they play the Rose Bowl against New Zealand to finish the summer.If she does make it to the big time, it would be another chapter in what is already a remarkable story.
19th over: Sri Lanka 36-4 (Thirimanne 17, Dhananjaya 0) Lyon continues his battle with Thirimanne but it is very much Off Broadway, the real action right now when Cummins is thundering in. The southpaw retains the strike for that next over, for better or worse, with one to midwicket to finish.
A masteful wicket maiden from Cummins, winning Silva’s outside edge with the final delivery with a timid push to Burns at second slip. But it was the earlier work that sorted the No5 out, the Australian quick beating the outside edge, slamming a bumper in that just missed the lid and slipping a yorker past the inside edge, prompting an unsuccessful lbw shout. He has 4/9 from seven overs. Phwoar.
18th over: Sri Lanka 35-4 (Thirimanne 16)
Who can stop @patcummins30?!
He has 4/9, and Sri Lanka is 4/35 #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/xbbxyzeTly
17th over: Sri Lanka 35-3 (Thirimanne 16, Silva 3) Another maiden from Lyon, giving Thirimanne few tempters outside the off stump, surely knowing that the outside edge has been the opener’s primary weakness over the years.
Bowlers who have taken 3 wickets in their 1st 3 overs of a Test innings most often since 1 Jan 2000:
3 S Watson v Pak Lord's 2010, v SL Galle 2011, v SA Cape Town 2011
3 P Cummins v Ban Mirpur 2017, v Ind Melbourne 2018, v SL Brisbane 2019
16th over: Sri Lanka 35-3 (Thirimanne 16, Silva 3) Cummins once more, with four clips in position for Silva, who just gets his bat down in time to the first ball, not getting up he was right to expect. But the next delivery in that region, does get up, kissing the thigh pad before racing down to the rope for four leg byes. He keeps it together, defending the last couple, but that volatility will keep him thinking.
15th over: Sri Lanka 31-3 (Thirimanne 16, Silva 3) It doesn’t take Lyon long! Indeed, he has Thirimanne given first ball, lbw! But going through the DRS process, Lyon’s considerable bounce means the delivery is projected to be going over the middle stump by a good six inches. At last, a good review from the visitors.
14th over: Sri Lanka 31-3 (Thirimanne 16, Silva 3) That might be Cummins’ final set for now, going for five runs with the pace slightly down. Understandably so - it’s hot. I’d imagine Starc will now be into the captain, wanting a bowl right away.
Ali Mitchell on ABC is discussing an article she read suggesting that the Gabba naming rights could be sold. Tuffers asks how much it is going for, Ali replies $2m AUD a year. “Oooh. Only $2m? I might have a dart at that myself! The Tuffers Gabba!” He’s a gem. I’m on the same flight back to London with him after Canberra Test, which could/will be eventful.
13th over: Sri Lanka 26-3 (Thirimanne 11, Silva 3) Nice clip from Thirimanne to start, taking two. Oh, less good from the next, having a lash at a ball well outside the off stump and missing. Put it away! He does, in defence for the rest of the over, keeping the strike with a careful push to square leg.
“Adam, do you recall?” tweets Jonathan Northall, picking up what I was putting down with the Pulp reference. “The lead was very small, Aussies needed wickets to fall. And when Cummins bowled the bal,l Sri Lanka had no answer at all.”
In the quick 6 overs spell yesterday, Jhye Richardson found 2.04° swing & 1.04° seam on an average compared to 1.14° & 1.30° for Pat Cummins, and 0.71° & 0.59° for Mitchell Starc. Time Paine making the right call to start with Richardson & Cummins today. #AUSvSL
12th over: Sri Lanka 23-3 (Thirimanne 8, Silva 3) Another rapid over from Cummins, working around that fourth stump line with Silva able to let half the set go, the deliveries taken by Paine at chest or head height. Bringing in the off-cutter to finish, it hit the new man on the thigh pad. Ouch. There is nothing fun about this for the Sri Lankans but they have to find a way to dig in for a few hours.
11th over: Sri Lanka 23-3 (Thirimanne 8, Silva 3) Another maiden for Richardson, who is doing his job perfectly, making Thirimanne play throughout. Then comes the bouncer, which the opener gets underneath just in time. With the new man going so well, this is a very good problem for the selectors to have ahead of the Ashes. How do they all play? How do we shoehorn James Pattinson into the XI? Double-down on strength, I say, and play four quicks and Lyon. Sure, it isn’t conventional, but knocking over England for sod all has to be Play A, B, C and D.
Extra bounce for Cummins making all the difference for that Chandimal wicket. Looking at two deliveries pitched on the same length from Cummins in this innings, the one that dismissed Chandimal bounced an extra 21.5 cm. #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/CNVEKzLj4v
10th over: Sri Lanka 23-3 (Thirimanne 8, Silva 3) Runs off Cummins! Four of them! Three first ball for Silva, clipped off his stumps out to midwicket - nice shot. Thirimanne grabs one behind the square leg umpire.
Oh, what are you doing Sunday baby? Would you like to come and meet me maybe? Australia's first three-day Test since... Pune? #AUSvSLhttps://t.co/aFCvnME7PK
That’s an appalling shot from Mendis, who is way too good to throw his hands at a ball a foot outside the off stump with his side on the ropes. Sure enough, the thick edge lands safely in the hands of Burns at second slip. Cummins now has 3/0 from 13 balls. “What dreams are made of,” says Stuart Clark on ABC radio. Not wrong.
.@patcummins has ANOTHER! Figures of 3/0 #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/pV0NZqvaUM
9th over: Sri Lanka 19-2 (Thirimanne 7, Mendis 1) Another thing to like about Richardson is that he approaches the crease on a slight angle rather than dead straight, as he has been the convention over the last 20 years or so. Russell Jackson, formerly of this parish, wrote about this a few years back. If Richardson and Worrall both feature in England this year, it would be quite the throwback in this respect. Do it, selectors. Meanwhile, Thirimanne picks up the first run of the day to mid off, Mendis tucking a single himself to get off the mark.
8th over: Sri Lanka 17-2 (Thirimanne 6, Mendis 0) Second up to Mendis, Cummins has the Sri Lankan star playing all around his front pad before then squaring him up a treat, the ball spitting out to the gully on the bounce. It makes another wicket maiden for Cummins, his current analysis 2-2-0-2. Whoa.
A second ball blob for the skipper! Cummins is on fire, just as he was last night, winning the edge from a delivery that took off from a length, ballooning into the gully. Patterson did the rest in the gully, having to jump to reach the catch, doing it well.
GONE. @patcummins30 strikes with his second ball of the day! #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/ziLrILXIVA
7th over: Sri Lanka 17-1 (Thirimanne 6, Chandimal 0) A tidy maiden to begin Richardson’s day, immediately in the channel then finding Thirimanne’s edge, albeit into the gully on the bounce. He’s a very impressive starter.
The players are out in the middle for an Indigenous welcome followed by the national anthem before the resumption. Some good words from CA spokesman James Sherry, noting the organisation’s support for the ongoing reconciliation project, “not to deny our past but for it to shape our future.” Thirimanne is joined by Chandimal, having lost Karunaratne from the final ball last night. Richardson has the ball in his hand, coming from the Stanley Street End. PLAY!
LAST BALL OF THE DAY, @patcummins30#AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/hoRSYsHN1h
The pitch. Looks to be plenty still there, especially for Jhye Richardson who has won plenty of lateral movement so far in this Test Match.
Welcome back to the Gabba for day three. It’s very hot. Again. Here’s the wicket. Play resumes in half an hour. SL 1-17, trailing by 162 #AUSvSLpic.twitter.com/8UA2EHChmM
Blimey, have we all caught the Justin Langer profile in Good Weekend? I’ll leave this passage to speak for itself. A press box colleague in response: “Accidental Partridge?” Indeed.
Part of a long profile on Justin Langer in the SMH https://t.co/b3mbdjuh4fpic.twitter.com/ISRub2AAgT
Having watched the end of the WBBL, the teams are now warming up. Happy as Justin Langer would be that his side are on the cusp of a one-nil series lead, he’ll also, surely, be smiling about England’s, um, issues over the last 36 hours.
Check out Vic Marks’ match report from Kensington, following Jason Holder’s masterful double ton. What a cricketer the Windies captain has matured into.
Related: Inspired Jason Holder hits double century as wicketless England toil
THE HEAT WIN! Wonderful scenes, Brisbane over the line for their first Big Bash title with a Laura Harris boundary with a few balls to go. Beth Mooney is the hero with her 65.
CHAMPIONS!
The @HeatWBBL have won a thrilling #WBBLFinal. #WBBL04pic.twitter.com/lMd5OYmjPq
All eyes on the big screen at the Gabba. As it is about 10 seconds ahead of the telly. Both teams have stopped to watch - magnificent. That’s the big benefit of the WBBL being televised from the get-go, this buy in from the entire cricket community.
All on the #WBBLFinal at the Gabba! pic.twitter.com/SCjHyyc4wj
JP is on the OBO for that final, I should add. Where the mighty Teen Wolv, Laura Wolvaardt, has been run out by her South African teammate Marizanne Kapp the ball after belting her national captain, Dane van Niekerk, for four. Six off seven needed! What a finish!
Related: WBBL final: Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat – live!
It has been a hot and windy morning in the Queensland capital, real sweat-through-your-shirt stuff, which is exactly as I’ve done on the way up to the press box. We return for day three with the hosts 162 runs ahead, Sri Lanka 17-1 overnight having lost Karunaratne from the final ball last night. Pat Cummins, what a moment, what a dreamboat. Australia in three days? Don’t doubt it.
I’ll turn my attention to the pre-play build up as soon as this WBBL final has concluded. At Drummoyne, Brisbane require 15 from 12 with four wickets in hand. Having covered this competition closely since its inception, make no mistake, this will not be easy. I’m backing the Suuuuper Over. If the Sixers do find a way to defend these runs, they will claim a hat-trick of titles. Pop on the telly!
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