Melbourne Stars turn around BBL campaign with second win in a row

The Stars have revitalised their BBL campaign, claiming their second consecutive victory with a five-wicket win over the Renegades in Melbourne on Saturday night.

The win – which came with two balls to spare – means that the Stars are no longer on the last line of betting across most Big Bash bookmakers.

The Melbourne Stars are now paying $13 to win the competition, ahead of the Adelaide Strikers ($17) and level with the Renegades.

Having opted to field first, the Stars put their fellow Melbourners under pressure early, claiming the wickets of Josh Brown (6 from 4) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (12 from 14) inside the first four overs.

After Tim Seifert (17 from 16) fell as well, the Renegades’ middle order carried them to a strong total, with Jacob Bethell (49 from 36), Jonathan Wells (45 from 31) and Laurie Evans (24 from 11) powering them to 7/168 from their 20 overs.

The Stars made a less-than-ideal start to their chase, losing both Thomas Rogers (1 from 5) and Sam Harper (1 from 1) in the first nine balls.

Ben Duckett (67 from 49) produced yet another stellar innings, however, belting his third half century of the season to anchor the Stars’ chase.

Marcus Stoinis (48 from 35), Glenn Maxwell (20 from 10) and Hilton Cartwright (24 from 12) all found maximums at crucial times to keep Melbourne edging forward.

With two overs to go, 22 runs were still required, but Maxwell and Cartwright kept their cool.

The latter plundered 10 runs in two balls – including a 121 meter six – to end the innings with two balls to spare.

“It was tough at the start, actually got stuck in and wanted to be there at the end,” Duckett said after being awarded player of the match for his knock.

“Did not go that way, but thankfully had Cartwright and Maxwell coming in.

“That is the strength in depth we have.

“We know we always have that and wanted to take it deep.

“We have played some good cricket, haven’t done it all the way through.

“Was the same tonight, but winning games like that is so big in competitions.

“If we keep going, keep this momentum, we will keep believing.”

Next up, the Stars will face table toppers the Sydney Sixers on Thursday.

Cricket betting sites have them as underdogs, but only just, with Picklebet paying $2.00 for Melbourne to bag their third win in a row.

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