Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Scott Heinrich

Big Bash League 2020: Melbourne Stars beat Sydney Thunder – as it happened

Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa was superb with the ball in Melbourne Stars’ win over Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League match at Manuka Oval. Photograph: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

Summary

That’s two wins, and eight competition points, already for Melbourne Stars and the Big Bash League season is only three matches old.

Batting first, the Stars looked on course for a very big score on the platform laid by Marcus Stoinis (61 off 37 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (39 off 29 balls), but a collapse of sorts in the second part of their dig restricted the tally to 169-8.

It was a total the Thunder would’ve fancied and one they might have reeled in if not for the wizardry of Adam Zampa, whose return of 2-10 from four overs was the difference between the teams. The leggie was pivotal in keeping Alex Hales (46 off 41 balls) on a leash when he was threatening to rack up a big score quickly. Callum Ferguson (54 off 35 balls) did his bit to keep the Thunder in with a sniff, but when he departed in the 15th over his side went on to lose seven wickets for 30 runs and with it any hope of victory.

Thanks for your company tonight. Let’s do it again soon.

Updated

Melbourne Stars win by 22 runs

Outstanding final over from Zampa, who finishes with 2-10 from his four overs and was the standout performer in a good win for the Stars.

WICKET! Holt c Hatcher b Zampa 1 (Thunder 145-9)

20th over: Sydney Thunder 145-9 chasing 170 (Cook 2, Sangha 0)

Now Holt goes chasing runs and Zampa is on a hat-trick, which doesn’t come but the Thunder run out of time and deliveries.

WICKET! McAndrew c Dunk b Zampa 6 (Thunder 145-8)

Zampa has been brilliant tonight and is fully deserving of a wicket, which comes as McAndrew tops one into the hands of the keeper.

WICKET! Green c sub (O'Connell) b Cartwright 5 (Thunder 137-7)

19th over: Sydney Thunder 144-7 chasing 170 (McAndrew 6, Holt 0)

And now Green departs, finding the waiting hands of the substitute fielder at long-off. McAndrew helps himself to a boundary off a waist-high no-ball and some great fielding from Maxwell off the free hit turns a possible six into two runs. Twenty-six needed off the last over.

WICKET! Ross c Hinchliffe b Cartwright 18 (Thunder 135-6)

A Green single puts Ross on strike and it’s now-or-never time for the Thunder. The answer is most likely never as Ross slogs crudely into the hands of Hinchliffe at deep midwicket.

18th over: Sydney Thunder 134-5 chasing 170 (Ross 18, Green 2) Ross refuses to go down without a fight, flogging Stanlake for a six and a four before mistiming a slog that brings only a single. Green, now on strike, can’t match Ross’s bluster and the Thunder now need 36 from the last two overs to win.

WICKET! Sams c Stoinis b Hatcher 0 (Thunder 120-5)

17th over: Sydney Thunder 121-5 chasing 170 (Ross 7, Green 0)

And another catch! Sams comes and goes, meaning there were two drops and two catches in the space of four balls. Hatcher is on a hat-trick on debut but Green keeps him at bay.

WICKET! Cutting c sub (O'Connell) b Hatcher 2 (Thunder 120-4)

The Thunder call for the Power Surge, so for the next two overs just two fielders will be permitted outside the circle. Cutting drives hard at Hatcher and Maxwell looks a chance at mid-off but puts down the one-handed chance. And then there is another dropped catch as Hinchliffe and Fletcher go for the same ball. Fletcher actually holds the chance but the ball bobbles out with the collision. And then, finally, the Stars hold a catch as Cutting picks out the substitute fielder at mid-on.

16th over: Sydney Thunder 118-3 chasing 170 (Ross 6, Cutting 1) Zampa returns and instantly gets tongues wagging with a ball that rips off the pitch and gains enormous bounce to beat Cutting - and almost the keeper! Marvelous bowling from Zampa. Just two singles from the over. Zampa is 0-7 from three overs, with 11 dots. Amazing.

WICKET! Ferguson c Fletcher b Hatcher 54 (Thunder 115-3)

15th over: Sydney Thunder 116-3 chasing 170 (Ross 5, Cutting 0) Ferguson nurdles a single to register his fifty (off 33 balls). Four more follow courtesy of a streaky thick edge off Hatcher but the Thunder skipper then departs as he miscues a drive and picks out Fletcher at deep extra cover. Good bowling from young Hatcher to claim his first Big Bash wicket.

Updated

14th over: Sydney Thunder 108-2 chasing 170 (Ferguson 49, Ross 3) Impressive stuff from Cartwright, full and wide outside off-stump and the batsmen just can’t get it away. Until, that is, Ferguson users his feet and turns the ball into a half-volley before spanking the ball over extra cover for six. Eleven from the over. And the Power Surge still to come.

WICKET! Hales c Cartwright b Hinchliffe 46 (Thunder 90-2)

13th over: Sydney Thunder 97-2 chasing 170 (Ferguson 40, Ross 1) A nice, breezy innings from Hales but it’s over before the job is done as he slog-sweeps Hinchliffe into the safe hands of Cartwright in the deep. Big wicket. Ross is the new batsman but the action comes from the other man as Ferguson cuts late for a deftly struck boundary.

Updated

12th over: Sydney Thunder 90-1 chasing 170 (Hales 46, Ferguson 34) Stanlake keeps it nice and tight with just two runs from his first four deliveries but his fifth ball is way too short, sitting up and inciting Ferguson to pull for four. The seamer overcorrects his line and length next ball as Ferguson edges wide of the keeper for another boundary.

11th over: Sydney Thunder 80-1 chasing 170 (Hales 45, Ferguson 25) Way to hit ‘em! First ball back after the intermission, Hales latches onto Cartwright and gives it enormous curry for a huge six over long-off. A can of Red Bull at drinks? A succession of ones and a two follow in a good response from the bowler. They’ve got it to do on the runs front, the Thunder, but with only one wicket down they’ll fancy their chances.

10th over: Sydney Thunder 68-1 chasing 170 (Hales 37, Ferguson 21) The Thunder need 33 runs from this over to claim the Bash Boost and the bonus point that goes with it. Not likely. A series of dot balls, in amongst a couple of wides, amounts to a good over from Hatcher and the Sydney team fall well short. If The Stars go on to win this match, they’ll collect four competition points for their troubles. Time for drinks.

Updated

9th over: Sydney Thunder 60-1 chasing 170 (Hales 34, Ferguson 18) Ripper of a yorker from Hussain demands Hales’s defensive best. Hales then mistimes a pull shot and is fortunate to survive as the ball zooms past off. The paceman looks to be struggling with an injury to his left leg, however. And Hussain is done, leaving the field with one ball left in his over. Cartwright on for a one-ball spell - and he almost gets a wicket as Ferguson’s leading edge lands just wide of mid-off.

8th over: Sydney Thunder 55-1 chasing 170 (Hales 33, Ferguson 14) Zampa returns. They’re really skidding through with great revs and the batsmen don’t know what quite to do. Not sure whether to go forward or back. Hales is in good touch but Zampa is quelling his momentum. Just four singles from the over. Good job, Adam.

7th over: Sydney Thunder 51-1 chasing 170 (Hales 31, Ferguson 12) Hatcher on now. But it’s Hales who’s hatching a plan as he plants the front foot and launches one right out of the middle for a six over midwicket. Massive blow. Beautiful timing. But a good comeback from the young seamer to go wide of off as Hales gives himself room outside leg and just a single comes from the last three balls of the over.

Updated

6th over: Sydney Thunder 42-1 chasing 170 (Hales 23, Ferguson 11) Zampa is introduced into the attack in what is sure to be a pivotal spell in the match. He starts with five dots, the second of which beats Hales and leads to a stumping appeal. Not out. One run from the over. An excellent offering from a very, very good white-ball spinner.

5th over: Sydney Thunder 41-1 chasing 170 (Hales 22, Ferguson 11) Hinchliffe into the attack to take some pace off the ball. The left-armer is too short at that speed and he invites Hales to rock back and pull for four. The batsman tries the same shot later in the over but a bottom edge for one is the best he can do before Ferguson gets in the zone off the last ball for four more.

4th over: Sydney Thunder 30-1 chasing 170 (Hales 16, Ferguson 6) Another over from Stanlake. Two dot balls is a good start to the over - and three singles and another dot is a brilliant way to end it (and the Power Play). Advantage to the Stars.

WICKET! Khawaja c Dunk b Hussain 7 (Thunder 21-1)

3rd over: Sydney Thunder 27-1 chasing 170 (Hales 14, Ferguson 5) Hussain begins with a loose wide down the leg-side but strikes next ball. It’s an absolutely horrendous decision, however, as Khawaja is adjudged caught behind despite his messy attempted ramp shot getting nowhere near the ball. Looked like bat on pad or thigh pad. DRS, anyone? Ferguson in now, and he gets cranking with a boundary over midwicket.

2nd over: Sydney Thunder 20-0 chasing 170 (Hales 13, Khawaja 7) Ouch. Khawaja misjudges the length of one from Stanlake and wears it on the wrist. A delay follows while he receives attention but no damage done as the very next delivery goes for four down the ground. Hales then beats short fine-leg for four and that’s how you cash in on the Power Play.

1st over: Sydney Thunder 11-0 chasing 170 (Hales 9, Khawaja 2) Maxwell takes the new ball for the Stars. Both openers are watchful to begin with before Hales launches high to deep midwicket, where Cartwright takes a brilliant left-handed catch but concedes four runs as he tosses the ball back onto his boot as momentum takes him over the rope. Another boundary ends the over and that’s rough for the fielding side.

Updated

Melbourne Stars 169-8

A decent total on the face of it but the Stars blew it in the second part of their dig. They looked on course for at least 180, maybe somewhere in excess of 190, but with the departure of Glenn Maxwell for 39 in the 15th over the Stars went on to lose five wickets for 34 runs and with it all momentum. Marcus Stoinis was great at the top of the order, scoring 61 off 37 balls, but his exit and that of Maxwell played into the hands of the Thunder. The Stars scored 41 runs without loss in the Power Play but lose two wickets in the Power Surge in overs 14-15 for not many runs. A nice debut from teenage leggie Tanveer Sangha, who returned 2-26 from his four overs.

WICKET! Zampa b Sams 3 (Stars 167-8)

20th over: Melbourne Stars 169-8 (Hatcher 2, Stanlake 1) More straight, full, brilliant bowling from Sams and this time Zampa is castled attempting an ambitious scoop.

WICKET! Larkin b Sams 15 (Stars 166-7)

Larkin eyes the seats over the deep midwicket fence but falls prey to a slow-ball yorker from Sams that crashes his stumps. Excellent death bowling.

WICKET! Hinchliffe lbw b Green 1 (Stars 162-6)

19th over: Melbourne Stars 166-6 (Larkin 15, Zampa 3)

Green strikes again as Hinchliffe plays around a straight full-toss and is plumb. Excellent over. Four from it.

WICKET! Dunk c Green b Sangha 16 (Stars 154-5)

18th over: Melbourne Stars 162-5 (Larkin 14, Hinchliffe 1)

Another wicket for Sangha! Dunk goes high and long but Green judges a nice catch near the rope to continue this squeeze on the Stars’ innings. Threes, twos and ones follow in the over but Sangha continues his impressive debut.

Updated

17th over: Melbourne Stars 153-4 (Dunk 16, Larkin 6) Cook tosses one up. Dunk’s eyes light up, it’s a wild swing and although Hales gets a hand on it at deep midwicket, six runs is the result. Big hit.

16th over: Melbourne Stars 141-4 (Dunk 7, Larkin 5) Sangha returns and he keeps it tight, belying his experience in the 16th over of a T20 match. Just six runs from the over and this has been a good few over for the Thunder.

WICKET! Maxwell lbw b Green 39 (Stars 133-4)

15th over: Melbourne Stars 135-4 (Dunk 4, Larkin 2) Second over of the Power Surge. Green’s been costly today but now he strikes a blow with the big wicket of Maxwell, trapping the batsman on the crease one delivery after being reverse swept to the fence. Two new batsmen at the crease. Two wickets in the Power Surge. Well played, Thunder.

Updated

WICKET! Cartwright c Cook b McAndrew 9 (Stars 118-3)

14th over: Melbourne Stars 126-3 (Maxwell 35, Dunk 1) Power Surge on - there are no fielders outside the circle on the off-side - and McAndrew starts with a leg-side wide before tempting Cartwright with a similar, though straighter, ball that he hoicks down the throat of Cook at fine-leg. Just two fielders farther than 30 metres from the middle and Cartwright finds one. I guess that’s the Power Surge for you. It’s a tease, a false sense of security for the batsmen.

13th over: Melbourne Stars 116-2 (Maxwell 29, Cartwright 9) Sams back on. Maxwell wants a piece of the left-armer but he can’t quite get him to, or over, the rope. A good over that contained three straight dot balls ends up a not-so-good over as Cartwright stands and delivers a brutal blow over the long-on fence. The Power Surge has now been called for the next two overs.

12th over: Melbourne Stars 107-2 (Maxwell 26, Cartwright 3) McAndrew catches Maxwell on the hip - and then the batsman’s outside edge and is a bit unlucky as the ball spears through the vacant first-slip region for four. Maxwell really is in the wars, wearing a throw from the deep on the wrist as he scurries through for a second run.

WICKET! Stoinis c Sams b Cook 61 (Stars 97-2)

11th over: Melbourne Stars 98-2 (Maxwell 20, Cartwright 0) The X-factor is not a factor in this innings. Cook on for his third over. The batsmen continue to trade in ones and twos - and a very wide wide from the bowler - before Stoinis goes for one big hit too many and miscues one to Sams, who runs in from deep extra cover and takes a nice catch low to the ground. Good dig, but Stoinis will have wanted to cash in. Big wicket for the Thunder.

10th over: Melbourne Stars 92-1 (Stoinis 58, Maxwell 18) Cutting on now. The added pace does a reasonable job at stemming the flow of runs but ones and twos come with relative ease. Time for drinks.

9th over: Melbourne Stars 86-1 (Stoinis 54, Maxwell 16) More spin from Sangha. Maxwell helps himself to a boundary then gets cramped up and butchers an attempted reverse sweep. He’s lucky to survive as the ball ricochets off the bat and just misses the stumps. Not a bad over from the debutant.

8th over: Melbourne Stars 79-1 (Stoinis 53, Maxwell 11) Green returns after that memorable (forgettable?) first over. Some nice sweeping by Ross saves two runs but more twos follow. The Stars are fairly well milking runs here. Excellent running between the wickets is helping their cause. Stoinis brings up his half-century (off 29 balls) with a clip through midwicket for four. Twelve from the over and Maxwell is yet to go large.

7th over: Melbourne Stars 67-1 (Stoinis 46, Maxwell 6) Stoinis chips Cook over extra cover for two. Maxwell just can’t get on strike it seems. But a single changes that and here we go. The field retreats and there are twos aplenty in the deep.

6th over: Melbourne Stars 59-1 (Stoinis 42, Maxwell 2) McAndrew breaks the mould of the innings by bowling successive overs. Stoinis stays in his mould, crunching the seamer wide of mid-off for a cracking four. The opening bat is in great touch. Though as I type that he mishits one that just clears the hands of mid-off. Four runs is still the result, despite some desperate fielding on the rope.

WICKET! Fletcher lbw b Sangha 12 (Stars 41-1)

5th over: Melbourne Stars 46-1 (Stoinis 31, Maxwell 1)

A banger from Sangha does for Fletcher, though it’s quite possible the ball may have been missing leg. Fletcher comically hangs around pondering a review that just isn’t there for the asking. On your way, sir. A wicket in Sangha’s first BBL over. Dreams are made of this. In comes Maxwell. Gulp.

4th over: Melbourne Stars 41-0 (Stoinis 29, Fletcher 12) McAndrew catches Stoinis on the right hip. The batsman is clearly in pain and next ball misses one that almost takes his off-stump. A run of five successive dot balls is broken at the end of the over by another Stoinis boundary.

3rd over: Melbourne Stars 37-0 (Stoinis 25, Fletcher 12) Green replaces Cook but the lack of pace is the same. And it’s all the same to Stoinis, who goes berserk with a four and six in successive balls over mid-off. Green then goes around the wicket. He drops another straight drive from Stoinis but in truth is lucky to escape in one piece. The ball went to him like a rocket. Another boundary follows and it’s a pretty awful over. Seventeen from it. All scored by Stoinis.

2nd over: Melbourne Stars 20-0 (Stoinis 8, Fletcher 12) Fletcher welcomes Sams to the attack with a boundary crunched through the covers. Effortless grace. He barely touched it. Stoinis then regains the strike after hurrying his partner through for a quick single, and another single follows before Fletcher opens the face of the blade and smashes Sams backward of point for a big six.

Here’s that Stoinis spank to get off the mark.

1st over: Melbourne Stars 8-0 (Stoinis 7, Fletcher 1) Cook opens the bowling for the Thunder. Stoinis takes face. Two dot ball to start with but then Stoinis goes bang with a muscular straight drive that flies over the bowler’s head for six. A single then hands the strike to Fletcher, who nurdles a single to get off the mark.

Updated

Not far from a start here. Just a couple of minutes. Stoinis and Fletcher to get things under way with the bat for the Stars. Sit tight.

Breaking news 2.0: Sharma set to join India Test squad

Hamstrung veteran Rohit Sharma is expected to link up with India’s Test squad for the second half of their series against Australia.

Sharma’s fitness and rumours about his relationship with both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and captain Virat Kohli have been an intriguing subplot on the current tour.

Sharma suffered a hamstring injury during the recent Indian Premier League season then returned to lead Mumbai Indians to a fifth title.

The 33-year-old was initially left out of the touring party altogether then belatedly added to the squad for the four-Test series. But he opted to return home after the Twenty20 tournament rather than board the charter flight to Australia.

Multiple Indian media outlets suggested on Friday that Sharma will fly to Australia soon and should be available for the third Test, which starts on 7 January at the SCG. Sharma will have to spend a fortnight in quarantine upon arrival, as per Australia’s policy for all incoming travellers.

It is unclear whether the BCCI has been granted an exemption by a state government for Sharma to train while quarantining. NSW Health gave India’s touring party permission to train for a few hours on each day of their stint in quarantine.

Kohli, speaking before India’s tour-opening first ODI against Australia, admitted he was confused about Sharma’s fitness and potential availability.

“Before we had the selection meeting in Dubai, we had got an email two days before that, which said that he is unavailable for selection,” Kohli said.

“It mentioned there was a two-week rest and rehab period, the pros and cons and the implications of the injury has been explained to him and he understood that. After that he played in the IPL, so we all thought he would be on that flight to Australia, which he wasn’t.

“And we had no information whatsoever on the reason on why he is not travelling with us.”

Kohli added there had been a “lack of clarity” about Sharma’s plans.

“We’ve been playing the waiting game on this issue for a while now. Which is not ideal at all.”

- with thanks to AAP

Looking forward to seeing what Tanveer Sangha can do with the ball.

If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing with a smile on your dial.

Updated

Breaking news: Pucovski out, Harris in

Will Pucovski has been ruled out of the first Test against India due to concussion.

Australia officials on Saturday afternoon made the call to pull Pucovski out of the Test after his ninth career concussion, replacing him with Marcus Harris in the squad.

“We have taken a conservative approach in managing Will since he sustained the concussion and hope he and David (Warner) will be back to full health ahead of the Boxing Day Test,” chief selector Trevor Hohns said.

- with thanks to AAP

Stars have won the bat flip and will bat first

Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson (c), Alex Ross, Baxter Holt (w), Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Chris Green, Nathan McAndrew, Jonathon Cook, Tanveer Sangha
X-Factor subs: Arjun Nair, Chris Tremain

Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis, Andre Fletcher, Hilton Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell (c), Nick Larkin, Ben Dunk (w), Clinton Hinchliffe, Liam Hatcher, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Dilbar Hussain
X-Factor subs: Lance Morris, Seb Gotch

So Stoinis passed his fitness test. Good news for the Stars. He’ll be keen to bat well after his duck last night.

Updated

Preamble

Top of the afternoon. In a summer of wall-to-wall coronavirus-conscious cricket there is no rest for the wicked. The Stars are obviously the competition’s early bad boys, backing up today as they are after last night’s win over Brisbane Heat.

And it was a heck of a win, restricting the Heat to just 125 - Nathan Coulter-Nile (4-10), take a bow - en route to a most comfortable six-wicket win. There wasn’t even a ‘Bash Boost’ point for Brisbane, so it all amounted to a wretched trip to the nation’s capital.

Today’s game at Manuka Oval is just the third game of the season so the dust is yet to settle on the latest rule additions. But the ‘Power Surge’ had a palpable effect on Hobart’s win over the Sixers on Thursday night, and we can expect this to become a key part of the batting team’s strategic approach.

Looking forward to this game. I think we can expect the Thunder to put up more of a fight than the Heat could muster. If you’d like to get involved, send me an email or tweet @scott_heinrich.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Paris Hilton says she has ‘rejection sensitivity dysphoria’ – here’s what it is and how it’s linked to ADHD
American media personality Paris Hilton recently shared on a podcast that she suffers from rejection sensitivity dysphoria, or RSD. Hilton, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, says the condition is common in people with the disorder. She also spoke of the impact RSD has had on her mental health over…
The Conversation
The Conversation
Shenoah Allen: Bloodlust Summertime review – guns and slaughter as ‘the devil’s son’ strives to know himself
Allen, one half of the influential Pajama Men comedy duo, mines his personal trauma for a slightly undercooked show about his dramatic upbringing in New Mexico
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Snow on Market Street
The man on the Mabank bench first taught me that history isn’t past.
Texas Observer
Texas Observer
Aliens
Plus: being trolled, Waymo traffic jam in San Francisco, and the details of Trump's crackdown on investor-owned housing
Reason
Reason
43 Actors Who Walked Away From Fame And Never Got It Back
Fans tend to associate actors with the specific characters they play in well-known franchises. Their roles can be so legendary that they practically become those characters. And yet, some stars think that they have outgrown their roles and set out to look for greener pastures. In a discussion sparked online,…
Bored Panda
Bored Panda
Wait – Is Taylor Swift Actually Performing at the Brits This Year?
Wait – Is Taylor Swift Actually Performing at the Brits This Year?
Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play