Brendon McCullum believes the performances of Mark Steketee and Jack Wildermuth in Wednesday's BBL semi-final loss shows the season has been a turning point for the Brisbane franchise.
The Heat's finals campaign was brought to a close after a super over defeat to the Sydney Sixers at the Gabba on Wednesday night,.
However, at points where their first finals match in four years seemed all but lost, the pair of youngsters were on hand to pull them out of the grave.
Batting first, the Heat seemed dead and buried with the bat at 6-109 in the 16th over, before Wildermuth struck a 16-ball 29 that included two fours and two sixes.
Then, with the Sixers cruising at 2-133 in pursuit of 168 for victory, Steketee claimed the key scalps of Moises Henriques (64) and Daniel Hughes (46) to finish with 2-21 from four overs and swing the game back in Brisbane's favour.
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"For young guys to step up in a finals situation when we're behind the eight-ball for a significant part of the game is a good sign of kids maturing quickly," McCullum said.
The performances were indicative of the Heat's season.
Considered outsiders from the outset, their campaign looked over after five games when they lost power-hitter Chris Lynn to Australian selection and a subsequent neck injury.
However they recovered to win two of their last three regular season games, and McCullum believes this is only just the beginning.
"We can walk away knowing we can say we've taken some pretty strong steps forward as a team," McCullum said.
"Hopefully what we've done this year can be a part of something that is a lot bigger and a lot better."
Key to that, McCullum believes, has been the establishment of the Heat's own identity.
The club played in front of sold-out crowds in each of its five home matches, and became the first team in the tournament's history to average a run-rate higher than nine-an-over throughout the regular season.
"We're a team that doesn't mind having a go," McCullum said.
"We're not scarred by too much experience as can be the case.
"We've been attacking with the bat, tried to take wickets with the ball, and be disciplined in the field - that's the basis of a good cricket team."
