T20 MAX GRADUATE JOINS HEAT | BlackCaps Blaster On Board

Dashing New Zealand batter Bevon Jacobs will join the Heat for the opening three games of BBL|16 as an International Replacement Player for English allrounder Tom Curran.

Curran will miss the start of the competition due to family commitments, with Jacobs suiting up in teal for the first time for the opening home game at the Gabba on Tuesday 15 December against the Sydney Sixers.

He will also play in the away matches against the Hobart Hurricanes at Ninja Stadium (Dec 17) and the Melbourne Renegades at Junction Oval (Dec 21), with Curran linking with the Heat in Sydney for the Boxing Day clash at the SCG against his old BBL club.

The 24-year-old right-hander gained a Brisbane boost to his promising New Zealand T20 career with an eye-catching effort for South Brisbane in the KFC T20 Max competition in 2024, his first overseas playing stint.

His stand-out innings of 100 from 40 balls came when batting alongside former Heat star Ben Cutting for Souths against Toombul, a knock that attracted the attention of the Mumbai Indians.

Jacobs was promptly snapped up at auction for the 2025 IPL where his teammates included Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. While not playing a game in his initial IPL stint, he launched his international career a few months later when he made his T20I debut against South Africa.

A three-format player with Auckland, he has led the ACES’ run-scoring list for the past two Super Smash series, including a remarkable stint at the start of the year. He amassed five half centuries in a row for the ACES, with his 328 runs coming at a strike rate of 173.

He has also played T20 in the Pakistan Super League, Caribbean Premier League and ILT20 competitions and was recently in action in Australia during the winter tour by New Zealand ‘A’ in the Northern Territory.

The South African-born Jacobs moved to New Zealand with his family as three-year-old. He has played 11 T20 matches for New Zealand to date.

Queensland Cricket’s General Manager - High Performance, Bennett King, said the Heat was thrilled to welcome Jacobs to the Heat, where he will link with fellow BLACKCAPS batter Tim Robinson in the batting line-up.

“We knew Tom Curran was going to be unavailable for the start of the competition while he is with his family and we identified there was an opportunity to add some batting depth for the opening games,’’ he said.

“Bevon has been on our recruiting lists since he showed his power and skill in the KFC T20 Max a few seasons ago and it’s been exciting to see him earn his first international caps since then,’’ he said.

“He has been successful at the top of the order and as a finisher in his career so far and we’re looking forward to seeing him in action for the Heat,” King said.

The Heat has successfully looked to the KFC T20 Max as a proving ground over the past five years, with interstate, international and local players taking advantage of the pre-season Queensland Premier Cricket competition.

Jacobs joins the likes of Spencer Johnson, Josh Brown, Nathan McSweeney, Paddy Dooley, Lachlan Hearne, Will Prestwidge and Oli Patterson who have gained Heat or BBL contracts out of the T20 Max. 

Tickets and memberships are on sale now for all WBBL and BBL Heat games.

BRISBANE HEAT - BBL|16 SQUAD

Xavier Bartlett

Max Bryant

Tom Curran (Eng) - NEW

Lachlan Hearne

Bevon Jacobs (NZ – IRP) - NEW

Spencer Johnson

Usman Khawaja

Matt Kuhnemann

Michael Neser

Nathan McSweeney

Matthew Renshaw

Tim Robinson (NZ) - NEW

Callum Vidler

Hugh Weibgen

Jack Wildermuth