All-round Maxwell lifts Stars to third spot after derby win over Renegades
Renegades, with just one win from their six games so far, are lying bottom of the table
AAP
02-Jan-2024
Glenn Maxwell plays a yet-to-be-named shot during his unbeaten 32 • Getty Images
Melbourne Stars 98 for 2 (Rogers 42*, Maxwell 32*) beat Melbourne Renegades 97 for 7 (De Kock 23, Lawrence 2-8) by eight wickets
Glenn Maxwell celebrated his 100th BBL game for Melbourne Stars with all-round excellence in their derby win over Melbourne Renegades.
Everything went right for Player-of-the-Match Maxwell in Tuesday night's rain-shortened game at the MCG as the Stars easily won by eight wickets. They have won their last four games for a 4-3 record, moving up to third place, while Renegades are last on 1-5.
Stars are now 16-9 in Melbourne derbies, and the teams will meet again at Marvel Stadium on January 13.
On Tuesday, Stars restricted Renegades to 97 for 7 from 14 overs and then cantered to 98 for 2 with two overs in hand.
Maxwell, the first player to reach 100 games for Stars, won the toss and everything flowed for him from there. He managed the bowlers superbly, claimed 1 for 8 from his three overs, and took two catches. Maxwell then combined with opening batter Thomas Rogers, who top-scored with 42 not out, to close out the match with a typically entertaining knock. He scored 32 from 15 deliveries, including three successive sixes off Adam Zampa.
"It was awesome to watch from the other end - box office," Rogers told Fox Sports after the match.
Renegades could not score a boundary from the fifth to the 11th overs in their innings after they were asked to bat following a lengthy rain delay. Adding to the Renegades' woes, Fox Sports reported that batter Joe Clarke was out for the rest of the tournament with the quad injury he suffered in Friday's win over Sydney Sixers. They also had to leave out the in-form Mujeeb Ur Rahman because of a contract dispute with the Afghanistan Cricket Board - it is unclear whether Mujeeb will play for Renegades again this season.
Renegades started brightly enough, scoring 33 from their first 2.5 overs, but once Jordan Cox was dismissed for 9 they lost momentum quickly. No. 3 Jake Fraser-McGurk only made 14 from 19 balls before he skied a catch to Maxwell off Beau Webster's bowling.
Fellow opener Quinton de Kock top-scored with 23 from 16 balls before Maxwell dismissed him. Spinner Dan Lawrence claimed 2 for 8 from his two overs.