Eddie McGuire says the Melbourne Stars' BBL semi-final loss was 'heart-breaking'

PRESIDENT Eddie McGuire says the Melbourne Stars' meltdown was as painful an experience as any he's felt in sport.

PRESIDENT Eddie McGuire says the Melbourne Stars' meltdown was as painful an experience as any he's felt in sport.

McGuire wouldn't make a direct comparison to a key Collingwood loss saying they were "different things", but said that the loss had hurt so many people showed the Stars had already become ingrained in the city's sporting pysche.

"We were doing so well, then to win it (on what should have been the final ball), then to lose - to botch that last over so badly - was heart-breaking for everybody," he said yesterday.

"Some people have been really cynical and claim this is a marketing exercise, but when you put your heart and soul into anything, but particularly a sporting club, the amount of people who have rung me and said their kids were in tears (on Wednesday) night makes it hit home.

"It's not just about the players, it's the hundreds of thousands of fans watching who all would have been jumping up and down on that last ball, then, amazingly, we're back to where we started.

"It just shows the kids are so into it, like a football match and they've already got a passion for the Stars jumper.

"If it didn't mean anything to people, it wouldn't hurt. The fact that it has knocked us all around is a good sign for the competition."

McGuire said finding the right schedule to make the Big Bash League accessible to as many people as possible, and to have key players available for big matches, were paramount.

"We're absolutely filthy we didn't win, (but) with the team we had it was a mighty effort," he said.

"We had chances to win, but the reason why we turn up to sporting events, because despite all the previews we write, there's a reason bookmakers make money and that's because really nobody knows what's going to happen.

"You couldn't have scripted that last over - not in a million years.

"But ultimately the game was in our hands and we let it slip ... and that will hurt a lot of people until we get the chance to rectify it again next year."