Stars defeated under the roof in Melbourne Derby

After being asked to bat first by the Renegades in Marcus Stoinis’ 100th BBL match, Tom Rogers got the Stars off to the perfect start, finding the rope on the first ball of the match with a glance past fine leg for four. 

Dan Lawrence followed suit, coming down the track to smash Fergus O’Neill over mid-wicket to see the Stars off to a 13 run first over at Marvel Stadium. 

Rogers (23 off 17) took an early liking to O’Neill, playing a powerful shot down the ground past mid-on for his third boundary, before getting creative as he scooped another delivery behind square to take the Stars to 1-33 after the powerplay. 

Captain Glenn Maxwell showed nothing but pure aggression in his approach to the crease, pulling out his signature stand and deliver swing to land three consecutive blows over the leg-side.

Maxwell (20 off 10) received a lifeline from O’Neill as he launched back-to-back sixes off a 19-run 7th over, adding a new attraction of his own to the Gades Arcade as he provided a crowd catching opportunity for those located on the marquee. 

Beau Webster (29) saw himself to an unbeaten 20 at the drinks break, including two boundaries and a big six over long on as the Stars went into the halfway mark at 4/73. 

He and Hilton Cartwright steadied the ship for the Stars following the 10 over mark, putting on a 31-run stand as the pair called for the power-surge ahead of the 15th over. 

Cartwright signalled his intent to score, taking Adam Zampa downtown for a huge hit over long on, before carving away a boundary past backward point as he partnered Imad Wasim (14) to put on a 27-run stand.

The power hitter crunched back-to-back final over boundaries as he top scored with 38 off 30, while Pete Handscomb had his first hit of BBL|13 after returning to the Stars as the side finished with a score of 8/137 from their 20 overs.

First class pros Joel Paris (1-20) and Scott Boland (1-27) each hit a beautiful line and length with the new ball, each recording 12 dot balls apiece to trouble the Renegades openers early as Paris predominately swung the ball away from the left-handed Shaun Marsh. 

The Western Australian struck in his second over to claim the prized wicket of retiring Renegades champion Aaron Finch, caught by long-time Victoria and Australia teammate Glenn Maxwell. 

More than 41,000 Victorians were in attendance for the sequel to the state’s biggest day on the cricketing calendar, the RMIT Melbourne Derby. 

After restricting the hosts to 1-24 in the powerplay, Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-25) was superb in his return from injury on Saturday evening, conceding just seven runs from his first two overs, in a spell that included eleven dot balls. 

With the Renegades sitting at an identical run tally to that of the Stars at the drinks break, the club’s cross-town rival opted to take the power-surge immediately as Coulter-Nile was entrusted with bowling the first of the two overs, dismissing Jake Fraser-McGurk and Jordan Cox in a game changing over for the Stars. 

Catches to Handscomb and Cartwright thrust the Stars back into the contest at Marvel Stadium, before Boland returned to close out the power-surge, combining with Rogers to win his battle with opposition skipper Will Sutherland, leaving the Renegades at 4/93 ahead of a tense final eight overs. 

The Stars continued to fight, providing some edge-of-your-seat moments for the Stars faithful at Marvel Stadium, though Marsh’s unbeaten 64* led the Renegades to victory in the 18th over to put an end to a thrilling RMIT Melbourne Derby. 

Now awaiting the results of the remaining four regular season matches of BBL|13, the Stars are still alive in the race for finals following the result at Marvel Stadium. 

The Stars will host the Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG in their final home and away match of the season on Monday, with a shot at returning to the BBL Finals series potentially on the line.