Brisbane Heat pip Sydney Thunder to WBBL final after last-ball wonder catch from Haidee Birkett

With Nicola Carey having seemingly scored the six off the last ball the Thunder needed, Birkett took a running catch on the boundary to win it for the Heat in one of the most memorable finishes to a match...

The Brisbane Heat will be making their first ever Women's Big Bash final appearance after a remarkable last-ball catch on the boundary sealed a four-run victory over the Sydney Thunder.

In what may one of the most dramatic finishes to a T20 game in recent memory, the Thunder needed 13 runs going into the final over, with Nicola Carey and Maisy Gibson at the crease.

After some good running and a four from Carey, the Thunder needed a four to take the game to a super over, or a six to win it outright. What happened next was truly sensational.

Having timed a heave to the leg-side well enough to probably take it over the rope and the Thunder to the final, Carey's hopes were shattered when Haidee Birkett seemingly appeared from nowhere.

NO WORDS!

An INCREDIBLE catch from Haidee Birkett sees the @HeatWBBL into their first ever #WBBLFinal! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uRj8SJYCCI

— Rebel Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) January 19, 2019

Having charged at full-tilt around the boundary, the 22-year-old threw herself at the ball and took a catch that will live long in her memory at least and sent the Heat to the final.

"In cricket, we do 'fake it 'til you make it', so you run hard to make it look like you're going to go for the ball and then I realised I was actually there, and stuck my hands up and it stuck," she said.

"I didn't think about it, it was six off the bat and it was one of those ones where you have to do so much and it's there all of a sudden in your hands.

"They either stick or they don't stick."

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