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Steketee amazed by Maxwell’s incredible innings as in-form quick yearns for Australian opportunity
Andrew Slevison • January 13th, 2025 4:32 pm
Mark Steketee was amazed by Glenn Maxwell’s remarkable innings for the Melbourne Stars on Sunday night.
The Stars found themselves struggling at 6/63 at one stage before Maxwell dominated the Renegades bowlers with 90 runs off 52 balls which included 10 sixes.
His efforts allowed the Stars to make a very defendable total of 165 before they blasted the ‘Gades out for just 123 with Steketee himself starring with the ball to finish with figures of 5/17.
But it was Maxwell who stole the show again by producing the goods with the bat to land Player of the Match honours despite opening bowler Steketee’s action-packed spell.
“That seems to be the way ‘The Big Show’ is rolling this year,” Steketee said on SEN Mornings.
“That was an incredible innings. That 90 was probably one of the best 90s you’ll see in a T20 innings.
“He definitely deserved Man of the Match. I could have taken eight (wickets) and he would have still won Man of the Match.”
Maxwell’s ability to farm the strike while Usama Mir was at the crease with him was excellent, eventually seeing the Stars to a total they could not have fathomed halfway through the innings.
“I don’t think we’ll see anything like that again for a while,” said Steketee of Maxwell’s knock.
“It’s one of those situations where ‘Maxy’ is such a good player that he needed to face as many (balls) as what he could.
“While he was out there we were still in the game to potentially get 130. To get the total we did and to start the way we did with the ball just made that momentum flow for us.”
Steketee’s own form has been superb.
His four BBL|14 matches have resulted in four wins with the Stars bouncing back from five straight defeats to currently sit fourth on the table.
During that time he has picked up 11 wickets at 9.54 which hasn’t weakened his ambitions to play for Australia at the age of 30, even if he is acutely aware of the presence of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Starc and Scott Boland.
“It still burns, the desire to play for Australia,” he said further.
“The last couple of years I’ve probably been a little bit unlucky with injury at certain times or things haven’t gone my way.
“But credit to those three guys and Scotty Boland as well. They’ve just done so well for so long.
“It’s definitely made everyone else want to get better and be better. It just shows how good their longevity is. They’ve been around for so long and they just keep turning up and keep playing (so well) which is a credit to them.”
Against the Renegades he bowled a peculiar first over which included 10 deliveries, four wides and two wickets, dismissing openers Marcus Harris and Josh Brown in the process.
He would finish with the best figures of the BBL campaign to date.
The Stars and Steketee are next in action against the Hobart Hurricanes at home on January 19 as they look to keep their spot in the top four.
However, they’ll need some luck with the fifth-placed Brisbane Heat, sixth-placed Perth Scorchers and seventh-placed Adelaide Strikers breathing down their necks with a game in hand.
