Big Bash: Glenn Maxwell’s spin call pays dividends for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers
An inspired decision by blossoming Melbourne Stars captain Glenn Maxwell to “go with the feel of the game” and trust his slow bowling brigade has helped Team Green defend a sub-par total against Perth Scorchers.
Big Bash
Don't miss out on the headlines from Big Bash. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Glenn Maxwell’s bold captaincy was enough to earn man-of-the-match honours after the blossoming Melbourne Stars skipper backed his enigmatic instincts in an MCG win to savour.
It was a performance equal to any of his best batting efforts as Maxwell rallied his men to defend just 141 on the back of 14 straight overs of spin, which deflated Perth Scorchers captain Mitch Marsh said he had never seen before.
Watch every single KFC BBL match LIVE & On-Demand on KAYO with FOX CRICKET’s unmatched commentary line-up. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
The home town skipper, blossoming match-by-match, threw his pre-match plans out the window, opted to slow the game down and secured a resounding 10-run win, which almost guarantees the Stars a double-chance in the revamped Big Bash finals.
The Scorchers wilted with the willow for the second time in five days in the face of the slow-bowling assault which Maxwell organized on the run.
Between them, spinners Sandeep Lamicchane, Clint Hinchliffe, Maxwell and part-timer Nic Maddinson bowled every over from the end of the powerplay after a mid-match decision from the skipper to “play on instinct”.
They combined for 6-89, including three wickets from Maddinson — who had previously bowled just two overs in the tournament — to stun the Perth team.
“I didn’t realise it was 14 (overs) but once we got out of the powerplay it was about just doing everything we could to slow them down,” Maxwell said.
“I waved to (fast bowlers) Lance (Morris) and Coults (Nathan Coulter-Nile) a couple of times to bowl, then we’d take a wicket so I’d change my mind, then we’d get a couple of runouts and I’d change my mind.
“I was just playing on instinct and the boys were really good.”
MORE CRICKET:
Glenn Maxwell’s former IPL captain unsure why he was axed from ODI side
Melbourne Stars Big Bash gun Haris Rauf selected by Pakistan for T20 series against Bangladesh
FULL ON SUCCESS
Maxwell rolled the dice by giving part-time spinner Maddinson another over with the run chase down to the final 36 balls.
Maddinson bowled four full tosses in a row, which could have been hit anywhere. Three went down the ground for singles, but the fourth one was a wicket as Cameron Bancroft hit it straight back to the bowler.
It was a rocket and, if Maddinson missed it, his peroxide blonde noggin could have been in trouble.
Then, on the last ball of the next over, the skipper bowled another full bunger to Kurtis Patterson, the key to victory for Perth. But he hit it straight to long-on and was out, as was the Scorchers run chase.
HILTON COULDN’T CART IT
There have been 35 centuries scored in T20 cricket in the amount of balls Stars opener Hilton Cartwright took to compile his innings of just 58.
Cartwright carried his bat and faced 56 deliveries — almost half his team’s entire innings. But the former Scorcher found the boundary just seven times.
It took Cartwright 50 balls to get his strike rate to 100. When Marcus Stoinis made 147 not out in the last match at the MCG, he had 100 off 60 balls, just four more than Cartwright faced.
Cartwright’s score was the lowest by any Big Bash batsman who has carried his bat in the first innings of a match.
BIT OF HELP PLEASE
It’s quite obvious how important Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell are to the Stars. But they won’t always go big, and their contribution of just 31 made it clear the green team needs a bit more from the other batsmen as the tournament gets to the pointy end.
Match situations can determine output in T20 games, but the numbers paint a picture of the Stars being a three man band.
Stoinis, Maxwell and Cartwright have scored 1073 runs for the Stars this season. But only 449, including just 84 each from Nic Maddinson and Ben Dunk, who have played a combined 15 innings, all with ample opportunity to go big.
That’s too much relying on too few for the championship favourites.
Originally published as Big Bash: Glenn Maxwell’s spin call pays dividends for Melbourne Stars against Perth Scorchers