Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
The Brisbane Heat has secured the prize signature of rising fast bowler Xavier Bartlett on a new two-year deal in the wake of his eye-catching debut BBL season.
Bartlett, who played 16 matches for the Heat, claimed 12 wickets at an economy rate of 8 runs over in a season where he became the most visible aspect of the new ‘X-Factor’ rule which allowed for a player to be substituted during the game.
Bartlett, 22, was subbed out on five occasions during the Heat’s season, which saw the club finish third in their highest finishing spot since 2016-17.
The right-arm quick claimed many of his wickets in the early overs of the Power Play, with his ability to swing the new ball delivering several early breakthroughs for the Heat.
Heat coach Darren Lehmann said Bartlett had put the team ahead of his own interests throughout the BBL and had shown exceptional promise when give the opportunity.
“He’s a great young lad, Xavier. He played the role the team required of him to the best of his ability and did it professionally each time,’’ he said.
“His skill with the new ball was excellent but we also saw him perform very soundly when asked to tackle set batters during the Power Surge or late in the innings. He will continue to develop into a very good player that Heat fans will enjoy seeing in action.”
Bartlett’s new deal was ratified prior to the official BBL recruiting embargo period that came into effect from 7.30pm on Saturday.
The Gold Coast product said he was delighted to take the next steps in his BBL career.
“It was a long series but a lot of fun too,’’ he said.
“It was a great bunch of lads and I was fortunate to be able to sit down with Morne Morkel and Ben Laughlin and Lewis Gregory and learn from them throughout the series. As a pace bowling group, with ‘Stek’ (Mark Steketee) leading the way, I thought we were pretty consistent across the BBL.”
“I’m looking forward to finishing off the season with the Queensland Bulls and then get my off-season plans right so I can be at my best for next summer and BBL|11.”
He joins Chris Lynn, Tom Banton, Sam Heazlett, Jimmy Peirson, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Matt Willans and Tom Cooper as players under contract for BBL|11 and beyond.
Meanwhile Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson today announced an external consultant had been appointed to undertake a ‘health check’ of the Brisbane Heat.
“We have identified an opportunity to take a step back and conduct an external performance review into the Brisbane Heat club and its two teams, the first time we have done so in the 10 years of the BBL and six years of the WBBL,’’ he said.
“It’s a good time to go through this process. The WBBL Heat squad finished third in the rebel Women’s Big Bash League earlier in the season after winning the previous two titles in succession and the BBL squad also finished third after making the KFC BBL finals this year.
“We can look at where things have been working and also where we can improve in terms of building a consistent, winning club.”
“Using an external agency ensures the independence of the process and enables a wide range of opinions to be canvassed.”
“The review will cover off such areas as recruitment and retention, player, coaching and support staff performance, and team and club culture. It will be relatively wide-ranging and should provide us with some valuable insights into our future strategy and planning.”
The review, by noted sports administrator Eugenie Buckley and her Suiko Consulting company, will be conducted over the next month.
