Zaman’s ephemeral show of brilliance at the BBL

Brisbane Heat’s mid-season signing, Zaman Khan, only took two wickets in the three Big Bash League (BBL) matches he played, but one of them was Steve Smith. In Heat’s final game against the Sydney Sixers, it was the young Pakistan pacer who made Smith, who is averaging 86.5 at a strike rate of 176 this season, struggle to score. 

Zaman to Smith: Out Twice

The rules of cricket do not work this way, but had it not been for a catch drop, Zaman would have gotten him out twice in two balls. His first was a slow ball that the Australian batter miscued, but Nathan McSweeney, running from backward square leg, put it down. 

Silence from the home crowd and disappointment on the Heat players’ faces following that catch drop indicated they knew the game was over. And rightly so, Smith, who was batting at 52 off 38 balls at that point, isn’t known to give chances like that often.

Zaman, however, brought out his lethal 130 kph yorker and struck the leg stump on the very next ball. 

Short but impactful stay

A big part of the reason the Heat had a chance to reach the playoffs until their last game was Zaman Khan. He defended six runs in the last over against the then table-toppers, Hobart Hurricanes. 

After his three-game stay in the BBL, the right-armer does not have very glamorous numbers to show for, but the impact he brought would be hard for Pakistan selectors to miss as they finalize their T20 World Cup squad. 

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