The Heat were never really in the hunt last season after dropping their first four matches but there are reasons to believe that better times are ahead for the Daniel Vettori-coached franchise.

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Having been forced to sit out last season’s campaign due to national team commitments, the recently retired Brendon McCullum is a virtual new signing and will form a deadly double act near the top of the order with Chris Lynn (pictured above), who topped the overall aggregates in BBL5 with some of the most devastating ball striking we have seen in a while.

The Kiwi ace has been hitting the ball well in trial matches and appears primed to have a big impact.

With the likes of Nathan Reardon and all-rounder Ben Cutting also in their midst, the Heat have plenty of strike power with the bat and should post some imposing totals.

Samuel Badree proved to be a solid acquisition and gives the Heat a measure of control through the middle overs but their pace bowling stocks look thin on the ground and opportunity abounds for one of their home-grown quicks to stand up and deliver.

Andrew Fekete’s red ball form saw him included in Australia’s Test squad for the aborted tour to Bangladesh late last year and the challenge is to convert this into some solid displays under a different type of playing environment.

With Mitchell Swepson in their squad, it will also be interesting to see how often Vettori elects to play two spinners at the Gabba, a venue not known for favouring slow bowling in modified formats.

McCullum may provide the X-Factor the Heat need and a fairly soft draw in the opening exchanges should enable them to build some momentum.

Unibet Odds: 8.50

Last Season: 6th

Prediction: 2nd