BBL Season 2 (2012-13): Brisbane Heat Win Their First Title by 34 Runs at the WACA, Aaron Finch Dominates the Season

Brisbane Heat won their first Big Bash League title on 19 January 2013 at the WACA Ground in Perth, beating Perth Scorchers by 34 runs in the BBL Season 2 final — a championship won away from home at the opposition's ground. Brisbane batted first and posted a total that Scorchers could not overhaul despite their home advantage. Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades) won Player of the Tournament with 332 runs across the season — from a team that did not reach the final.

Brisbane Heat Win Away at the WACA — First Club to Win at the Opposition's Home

Brisbane Heat's BBL Season 2 title at the WACA in Perth was their first championship and was won at Perth Scorchers' home ground — a result that gave Brisbane a founding championship moment similar to the one Sydney Sixers had achieved in the inaugural BBL Season 1 final, also at the WACA. The BBL's neutral or home-ground final format in its early seasons meant the team finishing higher in the regular season had home-ground advantage — Perth Scorchers' WACA hosting producing a ground advantage that Brisbane nevertheless overcame with a 34-run victory. Heat's 34-run winning margin was decisive, reflecting a first-innings total that their bowling attack could defend regardless of the WACA's traditionally pace-friendly conditions.

Aaron Finch: 332 Runs — Player of the Tournament from a Non-Finalist

Aaron Finch (Melbourne Renegades) winning the BBL Season 2 Player of the Tournament with 332 runs — from a team that did not reach the final — was an early example of a pattern that would become one of the BBL's most consistent features: Australia's most impactful individual players frequently appearing in non-finalist teams. Finch, Victoria's right-handed opening batter who would go on to captain Australia across all three formats, had already established his reputation as one of the most explosive T20 opening batters in Australian domestic cricket. His 332 runs for the Renegades — a team that finished outside the final positions — reflected the individual quality that would later see him become one of Australia's most important international T20 batters.

BBL Season 2 in Context

BBL Season 2 (2012-13) was the second edition of the revamped franchise competition — building on the inaugural season's commercial and broadcast success to deliver a competition that had grown significantly in audience from Season 1. The WACA final, between two of the competition's more Western Australia-focused franchises (Brisbane's road trip versus Perth's home hosting), gave the second season's conclusion a geography that reflected the competition's pan-Australian ambition: different cities producing different champions in consecutive seasons. Brisbane Heat's first and as-yet only BBL men's title sits alongside their women's team's back-to-back WBBL championships in Seasons 4 and 5 as the franchise's most significant cricket achievements.