Three-fors from Qais Ahmed and Brody Couch seal comfortable victory for Melbourne Stars
Melbourne Stars 9 for 207 (Clarke 85, Cartwright 79, Steketee 3-40) beat Brisbane Heat 9 for 187 (Lynn 57, Duckett 54, Qais 3-26, Couch 3-34) by 20 runs
Cartwright and Clarke devastate Heat
Few could have envisioned Stars smashing their third highest BBL score after they slumped to 3 for 16 in the third over, including the key wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell.
The team was in danger of being bundled out but English import Clarke was not perturbed by the predicament and effectively counterattacked.
He was soon matched by Cartwright as they smashed their way out of trouble and never let up in a purple patch that yielded as many as 13 sixes. Perhaps the most impressive of them was Clarke’s astonishing ramp off James Bazley in the 12th over as the duo traded blows.
They hit almost every shot imaginable to crush Heat’s spirit and at one point were eying the BBL record total of 5 for 232 set by Sydney Thunder last season. But the pyrotechnics finally ended when Cartwright holed out in the 15th over and then Andre Russell fell for a second ball duck in his final game of the season. Stars’ total still proved more than enough although a hamstring injury to Clarke, who did not take his place behind the stumps during Heat’s innings, will be cause for concern.
Guthrie creates unwanted record
Heat have long been known as a hot and cold team. A new leadership duo of captain Jimmy Peirson and coach Wade Seccombe was hoped to bring composure to the side but it’s clearly still a work in progress.
After such a bright start, Heat crumbled under the onslaught from Clarke and Cartwright, particularly a completely rattled Guthrie, who bowled six wides and a no ball. The former Scorchers bowler was struggling to land them properly in tough viewing and he seemingly received little encouragement from his team-mates.
Guthrie cut a lonely figure but ended his infamous spell on a rare high when a low full toss was mis-hit by Cartwright allowing Heat to at least finish well.
But the damage had been done.
Lynn and Duckett provide brief hope
Lynn, uncharacteristically, played a support role though he put the foot down with a huge six in the seventh over against Couch. The pair needed to somewhat replicate the earlier fireworks of Clarke and Cartwright but Duckett fell in the power surge shortly after registering his half-century with a six.
The burden was on Lynn who immediately responded with consecutive sixes to keep Heat at the required run-rate. But he fell in the 13th over to a well-judged catch by an ice-cool Russell to deflate Heat’s chase.
Stars impress under pressure
Much like Heat earlier, Stars were similarly under pressure at various points with Duckett’s switch-hitting prowess negating spinners Qais and Adam Zampa. They also had to contend with Lynn who was in vintage touch to ignite the home fans.
But unlike Heat, Stars didn’t lose their nerve with experienced duo Russell and Nathan Coulter-Nile bowling calmly across the eighth and ninth overs to halt Heat’s surge. Coulter-Nile then grabbed the key wicket of Duckett before Qais ran through Heat’s middle-order.
Maxwell marshalled his troops with aplomb in a well-rounded victory that might prove a springboard for the erratic Stars.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth and writes on sports for the Guardian and mailerreport