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Masterful Maxwell knock fires bounce-back Stars into BBL finals
Andrew Slevison • January 20th, 2025 9:39 am
Glenn Maxwell has helped fire the Melbourne Stars into the BBL|14 finals with a masterful knock against the Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG on Sunday night.
The Stars bounced back from five straight losses by pulling together five victories in a row to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament in remarkable fashion, beating the top-of-the-table Hurricanes by 40 runs.
They sat outside the top four prior to the match and the win allowed the men in green to replace the Perth Scorchers and nab a slot in the playoffs. It will be their first finals appearance since 2020.
Maxwell smashed an unbeaten 76 from just 32 balls with five fours and six sixes to help the Stars set a massive score of 5/219 against a ‘Canes outfit that had already sewed up top spot and a home final.
Some of Maxwell’s hitting was brutal with powerful cross-bat efforts and clever flicks over fine leg the order of the day.
The Stars were also well-served by Beau Webster who contributed 51 (off 31) while captain Marcus Stoinis struck 32 (off 19 balls) and opener Sam Harper made 23 (off 19).
In response, the Hurricanes never looked likely as Mark Steketee took three early wickets, dismissing Caleb Jewell, Charlie Wakim and Ben McDermott cheaply. The in-form paceman finished with figures of 4/24 and now has taken 15 wickets in five matches at 8.6 this Big Bash season.
From that point on it was a struggle for the visitors who were eventually dismissed for 179 with skipper Nathan Ellis top-scoring with 40, opener Mitch Owen making 38, and a trio of 20-plus scores from Nikhil Chaudhury (27), Tim David (27) and Matthew Wade (21).
The Stars will be intent on taking their momentum into the Knockout against the Sydney Thunder at ENGIE Stadium on Wednesday night. The winner will advance to the next stage while the loser’s campaign will be over.
The Qualifier final takes place between the Hurricanes and the Sydney Sixers at Ninja Stadium on Tuesday night. The winner will advance to the Final, the loser will meet the Knockout winner in the Challenger.
You can hear all the BBL|14 finals LIVE on SEN, kicking off on Tuesday night for Hurricanes v Sixers from 7:30pm AEDT.
