Josh Brown becomes instant BBL hero after epic knock with bat he made

Josh Brown produced an extraordinary blitz in his second game in the BBL for the Brisbane Heat. Image: Fox Sports/Getty

Josh Brown has become an instant hit in the BBL after a sensational knock for the Brisbane Heat on Sunday night with a bat he made. Playing in just his second game, Brown blasted 62 off just 23 balls as the Heat made 5-224.

The Sixers were gallant in their pursuit of what would have been a BBL record run chase, but ultimately fell short to be all out on the final delivery for 209. Brown, who is a bat-maker by trade, provided something special in front of 23,689 fans at the Gabba.

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The 29-year-old brought up his 50 in just 19 deliveries – the equal-fifth fastest in Brisbane Heat history. He then cleared the boundary with another enormous six and hit six maximums in his innings.

The opening batter works with Cooper Cricket founder Rod Grey making bats. He has crafted hundreds of Cooper bats himself, and repaired thousands for his mates.

“I made my own bat, the Cooper Bison…it absolutely cannons off. It is one of the new ones I made myself and I fell in love with it,” Brown told AAP after his innings. “All my mates call me ‘Bison’.”

Brown said “it wasn’t until I was 24 that I started to take it seriously and then I went from third grade to Queensland Second XI in the space of 18 months”. Fox Sports commentator Mark Howard described it as “an innings we’ll remember for a long, long time.”

Aussie great Adam Gilchrist declared: “Just found a new favourite player. I love him!”

Twenty20 franchises around the world will be lining up to secure Brown’s services after his scintillating innings. Brown told AAP he would “love to” take his T20 game to the world and added that his philosophy while batting was “play with no fear”.

The Sixers needed 24 runs off the final 11 balls when controversy erupted over Jordan Silk’s dismissal. Silk thought he’d shaved six runs off the Sixers’ victory target when Michael Neser went over the boundary to take a catch, only to be left confused when he was given out.

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Neser initially caught the ball inside the boundary before throwing it up into the air and stepping out of the field of play. He then jumped into the air before touching the ball again, parrying it back into the field of play. After getting himself back over the boundary rope he completed the catch before the ball hit the ground.

Under an obscure rule in the ICC’s official laws, the catch was perfectly legal because Neser was never touching the ground and the ball at the same time while over the boundary. Under law 19.4.2: “The ball in play is to be regarded as being grounded beyond the boundary if a fielder, grounded beyond the boundary, touches the ball (or if) a fielder, after catching the ball within the boundary, becomes grounded beyond the boundary while in contact with the ball, before completing the catch.”

Josh Brown in action for the Brisbane Heat against the Sydney Sixers in the BBL. (Photo by Russell Freeman/Getty Images)

Neser mentioned a similar catch taken by Matt Renshaw after the game. He said: “Well, I knew Renshaw did it a couple of years ago and I didn’t know if they’d changed the rules so I was going to give it a crack, and thankfully they didn’t change the rules. I did know it was a rule, but I didn’t know if they’d changed it.”

While some praised Neser for knowing the obscure rule, others believe the law should be changed. “Well, I knew (Matt) Renshaw did it a couple of years ago and I didn’t know if they’d changed the rules so I was going to give it a crack, and thankfully they didn’t change the rules. I did know it was a rule, but I didn’t know if they’d changed it,” Neser said afterwards.

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