Captain Jimmy Peirson
Coach Wade Seccombe
Squad
Tom Abell (England), Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Ben Duckett (England), Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Mark Steketee, Connor Sully, Mitchell Swepson Jack Wildermuth, Matt Willians, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)
In Tom Abell, Ben Duckett, Michael Neser (Strikers), Connor Sully
Out Joe Burns (Stars), Lewis Gregory, Ben Laughlin, Dan Lawrence, Simon Milenko, Morne Morkel, Jack Wood
Last season Challenger
Another underwhelming season appeared to be on the cards for Heat after winning just one of their first five games as they lost skipper Chris Lynn to a hamstring injury. But with Jimmy Peirson taking the reins, the rejuvenated Heat lit a fuse and headed into the playoffs as an outside title threat boosted by the dazzling return of Test star Marnus Labuschagne. They lived up to the billing with impressive wins over Strikers and Thunder, where their explosive batting order calmly chased down totals. But they were blown away in the challenger by a rampaging Perth Scorchers to fall short of the final and cap off an inconsistent season.
International impact
Heat could be hit hard by key absences, testing their depth and resolve. Lauschagne will miss most of the tournament due to the Ashes while prized recruit Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson and Mark Steketee are set to miss at least the start of the season due to Ashes and Australia A selections. Tom Abell will be absent at the start due to commitments with England Lions while hard-hitting English batter Ben Duckett will make his BBL debut after starring in the Hundred and is likely to be available for the entire tournament, so too Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Player to watch
BBL10 started slowly for destructive batter Chris Lynn, a headline act over the years and two-time Player of the Tournament. After being sidelined by a hamstring injury, the 31-year-old relished a move to the top of the order and finished with 458 runs at a strike rate of 154.73. With Peirson enjoying success as stand-in skipper, Lynn decided to step aside from the captaincy duties in the off-season after three years at the helm to focus on his batting. He was patchy in the Hundred, but a return to his favored BBL - and without the strains of captaincy - could fuel a resurgence for the six-hitting machine.
Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)
With a bowling average of 17.81 Brisbane Heat's spinners were the best in the competition last time around by a mile. Mujeeb, Swepson, Labuschagne stole the show taking 33 wickets among them although they may need Matt Kuhnemann to fill some of the holes this season.