Stars beat Strikers in NYE classic

The Player: The Stars had heroes aplenty at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday evening, but none were as impressive as long-time Star Marcus Stoinis. 

‘The Hulk’ produced a jaw-draw-dropping innings of 55 not out from just 19 deliveries to see the Stars home in the 19th over. Stoinis came to the crease with the required run rate sitting at almost 11.5 runs an over, though six boundaries and four maximums later, the Stars were home as Stoinis smashed the second fastest fifty in Stars’ history. 

The Australian World Cup member was back to his very best on Sunday night, silencing a crowd of 40,000 Strikers fans in South Australia to give them a three-point buffer in fourth place on the BBL table, with a record of three wins and three losses ahead of their final quartet of games in 2024.  

The Moment: It may have been New Year’s Eve in Adelaide, but Beau Webster brought out some fireworks of his own! Becoming somewhat of a regular feature of his innings, Webster’s eyes lit up when he saw a slot ball from Brendan Doggett come his way in the 11th over, launching the delivery into the third tier of the Max Basheer Stand. 

Trumping his hit in Albury against the Thunder last week, the maximum capped off a 17 run over, and saw Webster combine with skipper Glenn Maxwell to put on a 54-run stand.

The Result: As he did in the Stars’ first two wins of BBL|13, Glenn Maxwell won the bat-flip and sent the home side in, deploying recruits Joel Paris and Mark Steketee inside the powerplay. 

It was Western Australian Corey Rocchiccioli who claimed the breakthrough however, with the off-spinner dismissing D’Arcy Short on his way to figures of 1-30 in his first match for the Stars. 

A dangerous 93 run partnership between Matt Short and Chris Lynn looked threatening, with the Strikers going into the drinks break at 1/100, until Maxwell brought himself on to claim an all-important wicket, as he has done so often in green.

The skipper struck again to remove Adam Hose in the 16th over, finishing with impressive figures of 2-21 from his three overs. Maxwell secured a diving catch off the bowling of Paris to remove Jamie Overton on the final ball of the innings as the Strikers posting an imposing total of 4/205. 

Englishman Dan Lawrence got the Stars off to a perfect start in his first game in green, blasting his way to 50 off just 26 deliveries. Lawrence’s timing and poise were ultra-impressive, showcasing his beautiful stroke play over the off-side on multiple occasions. 

Lawrence found the rope on six occasions and smashed two maximums at a monster strike rate of 192.31, before Webster, Maxwell and Stoinis made sure there was no shortage of catching opportunities, with a 74-run stand between Stoinis and Webster ultimately changing the game in the backend of the innings. 

Stoinis’ innings capped off what was a pure run fest from both sides as the Stars emerged victorious from the blockbuster clash by seven wickets with an over to spare, claiming the highest successful run chase in Melbourne Stars history. 

The Stars will now return home and remain in Victoria for the rest of the home and away season, taking on cross town rival Melbourne Renegades in their next match at the MCG on Tuesday.