The Heat welcome the Thunder to Brisbane for the season opener in a rematch of one of the most bizarre encounters in the competition's history.

Brisbane were struggling at 2-10 in reply to the Thunder's 4-186 at the corresponding fixture last summer before a power cut plunged the Gabba into darkness.

The match eventually had to be abandoned, with each team being awarded a point.

"I was laughing about it but it wasn't a great look," Lynn said.

"What I found funny was when we shook hands the lights turned on about six minutes later.

"I was more disappointed that the pubs down the road were blacked out."

Lynn attempted to rile up his opponents last week by posting a tweet saying "preparations underway for our season opener" above a picture with his head photoshopped on to an Energex worker.

He said the social media post hadn't got the annoyed response he'd hoped from his rivals.

"There was actually no backlash on that. I was expecting a bit more," he said.

"I'm sure we'll cop a bit out on the field come tomorrow night."

The Heat go into Tuesday's match boasting what Lynn believes is the most balanced squad they've ever had.

Imports Tom Banton and Zahir Khan plus BBL leading wicket-taker Ben Laughlin will all debut for the Heat.

Test squad members James Pattinson, Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne are all unavailable but Lynn was excited about the season ahead.

"We've got a better balanced line-up, I feel, this year and yeah, a stronger squad, but it just keeps coming down to execution and making sure the boys are relaxed because it's not easy playing in front of 27,000 at the Gabba," Lynn said.

The Thunder head north with former Heat assistant coach Shane Bond in charge and with Queensland skipper Usman Khawaja in their batting line-up.

Ex-Heat batsman Alex Ross will also face his former team but Gurinder Sandhu (calf) is out due to injury.

Tuesday's match starts at 6.10pm (1910 AEDT).

Australian Associated Press