Melbourne Renegades seal maiden BBL title as Stars produce all-time choke in 'unloseable game'
The Melbourne Renegades are BBL champions after cross-town rivals the Stars pulled off one of the most extraordinary chokes in the history of Australian sport to lose 7-19 in a remarkable final.
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Melbourne is red and so is the face of every Star.
Sunday’s Grand Final choke by the green team was as large as the famous faces which have been plastered over the club.
From Shane Warne to Viv Richards to Kevin Pietersen to Michael Clarke and led by president Eddie McGuire the Stars have always tried to be the biggest dog in the Big Bash.
But after eight seasons only the Stars and Hobart Hurricanes are left without a trophy.
Renegades coach Andrew McDonald and captain Aaron Finch have compiled the near-perfect T20 campaign.
They lost Finch and Marcus Harris for the first half of the season and Afghan star Mohammad Nabi for the finals, yet they never lost their way.
They are a team of bit-players, evidenced by posting just three half-centuries for the summer.
Stars captain Glenn Maxwell seemed certain to break the Stars’ duck in his 50th game for the club before the unthinkable happened.
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Set just 146 to win on a friendly pitch the Stars were cruising at 0/93 after just 77 balls at Marvel Stadium, where they had won their past six games.
It was the equivalent of Collingwood’s five-goal lead in last year’s AFL Grand Final.
Unfortunately for dual president McGuire, both crashed to dramatic defeats.
The wicket of opener Marcus Stoinis was converted into 2/1 and then 3/6 and then 4/6 and then 5/15 and then 6/15 and then 7/19.
Yes, 7/19 against a world-class batting line-up . What on earth?
Renegades hero Dan Christian said after Friday night’s semi-final they had often relied on “pulling a rabbit out of the hat” with the bat this season.
But Finch pulled a colony of rabbits out of his red cap with the ball as the Stars went snap, crackle, pop at the hands of his attack.
Simply, it was an array of terrible shots as a championship was lost in 20 minutes of madcap cricket.
It was as if the Stars decided it was time for catching practice.
The Stars’ miserable history suddenly reads like this. Eight Big Bash seasons, seven semi-final finishes, two Grand Final and zero championships.
The Gades had no second spinner to Cameron Boyce, but a great mix of slower balls by Harry Gurney and Christian delivered at the death.
Cameron White’s screams of elation were surely the loudest as the Renegades converged on the pitch after their 13-run victory.
Four summers ago the Stars let their captain go, leaving White to pick up his BBL career at the cross-town rivals.
What about Dwayne Bravo? Bravo walked out on the red team 12 months ago to chase a championship with the Stars but his miserable time with the bat continued on Sunday.
Still, Maxwell’s rise from funky entertainer to respected leader has been one of the stories of the summer.
It was little more than 12 months ago that former Australian captain Steve Smith went public with his belief Maxwell needed to “train smarter” after he was dumped from the ODI team.
But while Maxwell’s relationships with some of Cricket Australia’s top dogs is unclear, there is little doubt Ricky Ponting gets the best out of him.
Ponting, coach of Delhi in the Indian Premier League, purchased Maxwell for $1.7 million at last year’s auction and Ponting has been signed as an assistant coach for this year’s World Cup.
Maxwell flies to India on Monday and Australia’s No.7 batsman is set to be a critical lieutenant for Finch in this year’s World Cup.
But it’ll be a somber plane ride next to BBL champion Finch. Once again, Renegades’ batting card read like a Bathurst 1000 car race – plenty of starts and not many finishes.
The reckless style saw their run-rate crash after the power-play after Finch’s cruel run-out.
Gades scored 47 runs off their first 37 balls and then just 39 off their next 52 as Christian and Tom Cooper embarked on a rescue mission.
The best mates and old Norwood housemates faced the innings out and in the end they did more than enough.
FINCH TELLS SEVEN TO TAKE A SEAT
Aaron Finch was justifiably furious after that freakish run-out. It was a final, Finch was set and then Jackson Bird literally kicked him out of the game to end the power-play.
Finch waited until he thought he was out of sight to take the willow to a plastic chair with two wild swings, but television cameras were following.
It’s understood Finch was set to wear the player mic in the second innings but told the broadcaster to buzz off after airing constant replays.
Finch’s long record of good behavior should also help him receive a slap on the wrist from Cricket Australia.
TWO MAXWELLS SMART
Nick Maxwell sat next to Stars coach Stephen Fleming in their coach’s box and it was if he was watching his old Collingwood teammates play. While Fleming headed to the bench for the run chase, Maxwell stayed upstairs fidgeting between plenty of early balls and clapping boundaries.
It highlighted Maxwell’s investment in the green team after they engaged his leadership services last year.
By the end of the power-play a relaxed Maxwell stretched his left arm over a neighboring chair as Ben Dunk took control of the chase.
Maxwell took Fleming and a posse of players – including Dunk – into Nathan Buckley’s review of the Pies’ win against Brisbane last year and sat them on Melbourne Storm’s bench for an NRL game. As for Bucks, he watched on from the stands with Stars president Eddie McGuire on Sunday.
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Originally published as Melbourne Renegades seal maiden BBL title as Stars produce all-time choke in 'unloseable game'
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