By Greg Dundas
A power-hitting masterclass from Glenn Maxwell powered the Stars to an unlikely victory over the Renegades in the Melbourne derby of cricket’s Big Bash League on Sunday night.
The Stars were in all sorts of strife at 4-45 when Maxwell came to the crease at the end of the seventh over at Marvel Stadium and slumped to 7-75 by the end of the 11th over.
Glenn Maxwell proved again why he is one of the world’s most dangerous short-form batters.Credit: Getty Images
But Maxwell carved 10 sixes and farmed the strike on his way to 90 off 52 balls before he was dismissed in the final over as the Stars compiled 165.
That total proved too much for the Renegades, who were dismissed for 123.
Maxwell’s dominance through the second half of the Star’s innings was reflected in the 81-run partnership he shared with Usama Mir, who faced just five balls and did not score a run.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic was among the fans who witnessed the opening stages of Maxwell’s entertaining knock, relaxing in the corporate seats ahead of his Australian Open tilt.
But the tennis superstar made an early exit and missed most of the fireworks.
The Renegades lost wickets at similar intervals to the Stars (they were 4-44 and 7-80), but did not have someone to rescue their innings like Maxwell did for their cross-town rivals, who kept their finals hopes alive with their win.
Opening bowlers Joel Paris (3-13) and Mark Steketee (5-17) did the damage up front for the Stars.
Maxwell looked destined for a century but was dismissed on the first ball of the final over of his team’s innings. He hit four fours to go with his 10 sixes – four of those maximums coming from the bowling of Victorian skipper Will Sutherland, including three in succession at the start of the 18th over.
“It was a bit of wild night, but I’m just so glad we were able to get the job done,” Maxwell said after the match.
“The outfield was a little bit slower, so I just had to find it in another way.”
But the largest strike came in the previous over when he launched a ball from Kane Richardson over mid-wicket into the second tier of Marvel Stadium, a blow measured by host broadcaster Channel Seven as being 122 metres long.
“I was probably hitting every second or third ball, and with the way the wicket was playing I was just trying to put them under enough pressure where I was getting an over-pitched delivery or one a little bit wider where I could sort of throw my hands or get some sort of leverage on,” Maxwell said.
“It still felt like I played and missed a little bit and missed the middle of the bat, and had a few mistimed shanks into the leg side.
“But knowing how simple my game plan was – to stay on strike for as long as I could – I could just wait for one that I could actually hit in the middle and hopefully connect.
“It forced my hand a bit when we were seven down and I didn’t want to expose the tail.”
Sunday’s win elevated the Stars into the top four, but they are the only team in the competition to have completed nine of their 10 matches. They now have a week to prepare for their final home and away match against the Hobart Hurricanes next Sunday.
The result relegated the Renegades to the bottom of the table, but they are not out of finals contention. They have two games left – first against Hobart on Tuesday and then the Brisbane Heat on Friday.
With AAP
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