Stars lost to Brisbane Heat by 103 runs in their BBL 13 opening game.
Stars' captain Glenn Maxwell won the toss on Thursday night and chose to bowl first. Heat's opener Colin Munro led the way with 99* in 61 balls, with 5 sixes and 9 fours, while Marnus Labuschagne hit 30 and Usman Khawaja hit 28. In 20 overs, the Brisbane Heat amassed a total of 214/3.
In response, the Stars lost both openers for single digits. The Heat kept the pressure on the Stars, with only Hilton Cartwright (33), Glenn Maxwell (23) and Joe Burns (22) reaching double figures.
The Melbourne Stars were bowled out for 111 in 15.1 overs by the Heat, who won by 103 runs. Mitchell Swepson led the way with 3/23, while Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett each had two scalps.
However, the night got worse for the Stars as their captain Glenn Maxwell, and pacer Nathan Coulter Nile were ruled out of their next BBL 13 match due to their respective injuries.
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Maxwell winced in agony after hitting a boundary off Brisbane Heat quick Spencer Johnson early in his 14-ball innings of 23.
Maxwell was treated twice and continued batting with a big bandage wrapped around his right arm before being dismissed shortly, and walking back evidently in discomfort. Maxwell will miss the Stars' next match against the Perth Scorchers, according to management.
“He’s got the biggest forearms in the world and he’s pulled a muscle. He’s played a lot of cricket, hope he’s OK. He’s been awesome. He’s had a nice break from the World Cup. He’s been super positive around anything. We just had a quick team meeting (after the game). He was still very positive, and had the attitude of what we didn’t get right tonight.
We’ll move forward and work on it at training. He’s always been like that. He’s got a level head around reviewing games. I think it’s a real credit to him to keep that positive attitude,” Hilton Cartwright said as per FoxSports.
Apart from Maxwell, pacer Coulter-Nile also suffered a calf injury. He came out to bat at No. 11 with a runner.
“They are both soft tissue so we’ll have to see how they scrub up. Hopefully both aren’t too bad but we’ll just have to wait and see,” Stars coach Peter Moores said.
Stars will have the services of Haris Rauf to call upon. The pacer was not picked for the opening match as he had just landed in Australia.