BBL: Marcus Stoinis describes helmet strike against Hobart Hurricanes
Marcus Stoinis has described the moment a Riley Meredith thunderbolt crashed into the grill of his helmet, and revealed what he has to do to play against Sydney Thunder.
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Marcus Stoinis is set to undergo further concussion tests after copping a nasty bouncer that got his “competitive juices” flowing.
Stoinis is expected to open the batting when Melbourne Stars meet Sydney Thunder on Thursday although the powerful all-rounder was unsure when he would receive medical clearance to resume bowling.
Stoinis has not bowled since November as he fights “a few niggles”, however that hasn’t stopped the Stars romping to a 3-1 start to the Big Bash season.
“We’re going well. Three wins out of the four games — that’s our best start for a while, so we’re in a good position,” Stoinis said on Tuesday.
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Under new coach David Hussey it is the best start to a season in six years, with the green team often the slowest out of the blocks.
In BBL04 they started 1-3 while in BBL07 it was 0-4 with the glamour club still chasing a maiden title.
Stoinis was struck on the grill by a Riley Meredith delivery that looked nasty as Stars defeated Hobart for the second time in eight days.
“I saw it pretty closely. I saw it almost on to my chin. I’m feeling OK, we’ve got great doctors here, we’ve got a great physio who has looked after me,” Stoinis said.
“There’s a protocol we go through and a few tests we do online. They were done last night (Monday) and I think I might have to do another one today (Tuesday) but so far, so good.
“It gets the adrenaline going. We’re competitors and we don’t like being put down like that. It does get the competitive juices going.
“Initially I was aiming to get out of the way, and then it probably stayed a little bit low and followed me. There’s not much you can do.
“It hit the grill. The Grey Nicholls helmet stood up to it, and thank God for that.”
Stars captain Glenn Maxwell played the role of firefighter in the build-up.
Maxwell noticed smoke “billowing out” from a park and seeping into his hotel, so he grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprinted to the hot spot.
As Maxwell put out a bush that was on fire, teammate Dale Steyn called the fire brigade and posted a short video of Maxi the fireman on his Instagram story.
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