Source : ABC NEWS
Two Melbourne Renegades bowlers were removed from the attack for running on a pitch in a bizarre start to the BBL clash with Brisbane at Marvel Stadium.
Renegades captain Will Sutherland and fellow pacer Fergus O’Neill were both banned from bowling for the rest of the Heat’s innings following intervention from umpire Donovan Koch.
Sutherland was taken out of the attack with a ball to go in his third over after Donovan spoke to him, while O’Neill still had nine deliveries he could have bowled for the innings.
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It is rare for one player to be removed from bowling mid-over, but two in the same match is virtually unheard of.
Renegades opener Josh Brown, who has never bowled before in his 37 previous T20 appearances, was forced to fill the void left by Sutherland and O’Neill.
Brown’s 2.4 overs went for a whopping 0-48, as the Heat piled on 4-196 — the highest total at Marvel Stadium this season — from their 20 overs
However, Jake Fraser-McGurk finally found his hard-hitting best, blasting the Renegades to a thrilling three-wicket win that ends the Heat’s title defence.
Out-of-form this summer for South Australia and the Renegades, Fraser-McGurk smashed 95 from 46 balls to help the Renegades pull off the second-highest successful BBL chase at Marvel Stadium.
The dynamic 22-year-old attempted to reach his maiden BBL century with a six down the ground, but Matt Renshaw took an impressive catch near the rope with the Renegades still requiring 17 to win.
But O’Neill (16no) finished the job as the Renegades chased down the Heat’s 4-196 with 12 balls to spare.
Fraser-McGurk entered the match having made just 93 runs from his first nine BBL games this season, leading to him dropping back to No.3 after starting the tournament opening.
But he destroyed a star-studded Heat bowling attack containing internationals Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Mitchell Swepson and Michael Neser in a performance that will delight national selectors.
“I was spewing I couldn’t do it throughout the whole tournament,” Fraser-McGurk said.
“There was sort of nothing to lose (against the Heat).
“It could have been the last game of the (Renegades’) season, and it just freed me up a bit.
“I just went out there and I thought, ‘stuff it, I’ll give it a red-hot crack and take them on’. And it paid off.”
AAP/ABC
