The old saying in cricket is that catches win matches.

And the one handed screamer pulled off by Sydney Sixer Jordan Silk on Thursday night at the Gabba went a long way towards ensuring his side’s thrilling four run victory over the Heat.

Defending a modest 7-140 after being sent in to bat by Brisbane, the Sixers had the Heat in all sorts of trouble at 3-33 in the seventh over.

But with heavy hitters Craig Kieswetter (38 off 40) and Chris Lynn (34 off 21) at the crease, the Heat rallied to get back to 3-96.

Needing wickets, the Sixers reintroduced former Australian thunderbolt Brett Lee (2-22), who had an immediate impact when his first ball cannoned off Lynn’s back pad and onto the stumps.

Then Silk pulled off the moment of the match.

Kieswetter, who had been in good touch with four boundaries and one six, clobbered the ball flat and hard to long on.

Silk somehow covered around five metres, leapt and stuck out one hand, clutching the ball in a catch that West Indies great and commentator Sir Viv Richards enthused as “one of the best I have ever seen”.

“(That praise) is definitely an honour,” Silk said.

“It was a pretty big moment in the game, I’m happy I hung onto it.”

The twin blows left the Heat with two new batters at the crease in skipper James Hopes (nine off 13) and Chris Sabburg (19 not out off 19).

But the Heat were not done with, despite needing 10 off the last two balls.

Ben Cutting smashed a six off the penultimate ball and looked to have won the game when he clubbed the last ball, only for it to fall into the hands of Moises Henriques.

Heat coach Stuart law conceded the catch was the turning point: “It just goes to show … spectacular catches win matches”.

But he also lamented not injecting Cutting (seven off three) into the fray earlier than he did.

“Probably my mistake there, sending Chris Sabburg in instead of Ben Cutting.

“If anyone can hit power, Cutting has been doing it regularly and he nearly got us over the line again.”

Law had rung the changes for the match, axing paceman Alister McDermott and spinner Nathan Hauritz while recalling skipper James Hopes and handing Australian under-19 seamer Mark Steketee his BBL debut.

Gannon (4-24) ripped through the Sixers order, claiming the scalps of Henriques (19 off 15 balls), Silk (6 off 8) and Dan Smith (5 off 8) and Lee (0).

Cutting took 2-30 in a strong bowling display for the Brisbane side while Englishman Michael Lumb played a lone hand for the Sixers with a 42 ball 56.