An astonishing event took place during Saturday night’s BBL clash between the Adelaide Strikers and the Brisbane Heat – with bowler Liam Haskett’s father making an unusual cameo.
The bizarre incident took place during the fourth over of the second innings when the Heat’s Nathan McSweeney sent Haskett to deep mid-wicket.
The ball crossed the boundary and was caught by none other than Haskett’s father, who was in the stands.
“That man over there is Liam Haskett’s father,” a shocked Adam Gilchrist said in a comment.
‘Lloyd Haskett. He sat back there and didn’t seem excited about the procedure at all.
“He played it really cool. We thought he was just a cool customer, but he was so disappointed that his son had just been deployed on his debut and he had caught the catch.”
Adelaide Strikers’ left-arm seamer Liam Haskett (pictured) eventually took two wickets
Meanwhile, Matt Short blasted the Adelaide Strikers’ fastest century and anchored the BBL’s second-highest team score as they defeated Brisbane by 56 runs.
The record win at Adelaide Oval keeps the Strikers in the final and gives their net run rate a crucial boost.
Returning from a broken toe that sidelined him for three matches, Short hit 109 off 54 balls. He brought up his ton off 49 balls, a team record.
Adelaide scored 5-251 in front of 27,212 fans, easily beating their previous record of 3-230 and ranked second only to the Melbourne Stars’ 2-273 three years ago.
The Heat, fourth before Saturday’s loss, were never in the hunt. D’Arcy Short took his fourth wicket with the last ball of the match as Brisbane were dismissed for 195.
Brisbane fell from 4-146 to 9-158 before Spencer Johnson (27) and Matt Kuhnemann put up some late resistance.
The flat field yielded 26 sixes for the match – including seven for Matt Short – which equals the BBL record.
The win lifted Adelaide from the bottom of the ladder and improved their net run rate from -0.299 to +0.092.
The Strikers’ record win at Adelaide Oval keeps them in the final
Matt Short accelerated the Adelaide Strikers’ fastest century and anchored the BBL’s second-highest team score
Short’s ton is Strikers’ second highest score. He ran to Xavier Bartlett from Mitchell Swepson on the square boundary, and had his shot been a little cleaner, Short would have equaled Jake Weatherald’s record of 115.
‘You get frustrated. It’s hard being on the sidelines, especially as captain,” Short said of his injury.
‘It’s nice to be back and on the winners list again. Hopefully we can continue this and you never know what could happen at the end of the tournament.”
Saturday also marked the first time in the BBL that three scores over 200 were posted on the same day, following the Sydney Sixers-Perth Scorchers run-fest at the SCG.
Adding to Brisbane’s concerns, captain Colin Munro was forced off the field when he hurt his shoulder and then dislocated a finger in successive overs.
Munro was then dismissed for a second ball duck.
Short’s opening partner Chris Lynn did not come on due to hamstring tightness while batting and will require scans.
Adelaide lost the toss but that didn’t bother Short and Lynn, who were ruthless as they crushed the Brisbane attack in front of a healthy home crowd.
They reached 121 in just 8.5 overs, before Kuhnemann took on Lynn for 47 overs.
Lynn hit five fours and three sixes in his whirlwind 20-ball knock.
Adelaide’s late-season BBL revival has been exciting to watch
Test keeper Alex Carey played his first BBL match this season and made just 13 before Kuhnemann also bowled him.
An unbeaten 44 from 19 balls from Alex Ross set up the record score in Adelaide.
Kuhnemann was the favorite of the Heat attack, scoring 3-50 from four overs.
McSweeney gave the Heat some hope with 43 and Matt Renshaw hit three sixes off a Lloyd Pope in his quick-fire 34.
But Brisbane then fell in a heap, with D’Arcy Short claiming 4-15 from three overs.