Moores believes Stars made 'right call' on Maxwell in rain-hit finals loss
Stars coach defended batting skipper Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell down the order in a seven-over chase
AAP
22-Jan-2026 • 5 hrs ago
Glenn Maxwell faced just four balls in Melbourne Stars unsuccessful chase • Getty Images
Melbourne Stars coach Peter Moores has defended his side's use of Glenn Maxwell in a rain-hit Big Bash League elimination final loss to the Hobart Hurricanes.
He also thinks a tweak to the power surge should be spoken about, after Stars lost their ability to use the fielding restriction tactic when their target was adjusted.
Stars went down by three runs to the Hobart Hurricanes on Wednesday night at Ninja Stadium, falling just short of their Duckworth-Lewis-Stern target.
Stars had to initially chase 115 off 10 overs, after Hobart made 114 for 5 in their rain-reduced 10-over innings.
But that was changed to a victory target of 85 from seven overs after further rain forced play to stop just two overs into the chase.
Batting at No.5, master blaster Maxwell, who has struggled for runs this tournament, faced just four deliveries in the chase and finished unbeaten on 9. He did not face a ball in the final over.
Maxwell entered the fray with 11 deliveries left when Stars opted to retire player of the tournament Sam Harper.
Moores said the decision to stick with Tom Rogers and Harper as openers and Joe Clarke at No.3 was made in the context of it being a 10-over game.
"We sent out two lads who have played really well … to send them out for the two overs of powerplay made complete sense," he said post-match.
"Joe Clarke is an opener as well. We lost an early one in Tommy and [sent out] Joe and then obviously the rain came.
"Marcus [Stoinis] was next and Maxi [Maxwell] after that. You're making decisions as the game evolves. I think we made the right calls."
Hurricanes were able to call a power surge for one over in their innings, but Stars lost theirs after the DLS adjustment.
"It makes a difference in a short game," Moores said, pointing to English competitions where fielding restrictions in rain-reduced games are calculated as a percentage and can sometimes be a portion of an over.
"It seems to make sense. It's quite simple to do.
"We've done that over in England for a bit. Maybe it's something [to look at], but we play to the rules of each competition and we've got no complaints about it."
It was a brutal end to the season for Stars, who are the only franchise without a BBL title.
They would have locked up top spot on the ladder and a home final if they'd beaten Perth Scorchers in their final regular season game.
"We'll look back on a tournament where a lot of people played well. The frustration is that I think we were playing well enough to win it," Moores said.
"If it didn't hurt you, you wouldn't be human in some way. We'll take it on the chin and we'll move on."