Melbourne Stars’ BBL finals hopes fade after Thunder defeat

Just two weeks into the 2024-25 BBL, the Melbourne Stars are all but eliminated from the competition after slipping to their fifth-consecutive loss against the Sydney Thunder on Saturday in Canberra.

The Thunder batted first and made the most of some sloppy fielding by Melbourne Stars to rack up 8/182 from their 20 overs.

English import Sam Billings was the star, plundering 72 runs from 39 balls in an innings that should not have gone on so long.

Just 16 balls into his stay – and on 16 runs at the time – Billings was run-out.

However, no one from the Stars noticed the Englishman’s bat was short, and the run out flew under the radar with no appeal.

With a new lease on life, Billings unleashed, finding company from Daniel Sams (16 from 8) at the back end of the innings to take the Thunder through to a competitive total.

Melbourne gave the chase a good crack, but again fell narrowly short, losing by 18 runs.

Ben Duckett (67 from 49) put together another brilliant effort, while Marcus Stoinis (22 from 17), Hilton Cartwright (17 form 12) and Beau Webster (20 from 16) all made contributions as well.

Ultimately the Sydney bowling was too tight, however, with Wes Agar taking an impressive 3/25 as Melbourne ended on 8/164.

“Pretty dopey moment for me to be honest,” player-of-the-match Billings said about his run-out incident after the match.

“Quite bizarre, but sometimes you just need a little bit of luck and thankfully it was my night.

“Very tight competition, everyone seems to be beating everyone.

“Looking forward to getting on a bit of a roll now and using that momentum.

The Thunder remain moderate title hopes across Big Bash bookies after their victory, which takes them to fourth on the table.

Bet365 puts the Sydney side at $7.50 to win the title, behind the Sydney Sixers ($3.75), Perth Scorchers ($5), Brisbane Heat ($5.50) and Melbourne Renegades ($6.50).

“There are still probably areas where we can improve,” Billings continued.

“Ben Duckett played brilliantly, but couple of key wickets brought us right back in the game.

“I’m very competitive.

“Davey asked a couple of times the boys to show more energy on the field, and I think we can get better, that’s me included.

“Just small margins can make a difference especially in tight games.”

Next up, the Thunder take on the Renegades in Sydney on Monday.

Cricket betting sites are unable to split the two ahead of the clash, putting the match at $1.91 each way.

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