Tom Curran's career-best ends Strikers' season, Stoinis to get thumb scanned

A career-best T20 performance with the ball from Tom Curran has ended Adelaide Strikers' season and kept Melbourne Stars' hopes of a BBL finals double chance alive but a late blow on the thumb to skipper Marcus Stoinis has Stars and Australia nervous ahead of the World Cup with the allrounder likely to get it scanned.

Curran took 4 for 10 in a stunning display of new-ball bowling to register the best figures of his 256-game T20 career. Mitchell Swepson also bagged three wickets as Strikers folded for 83, their second-lowest total in the BBL, despite batting out 19.3 overs.

Stars' chase was not that much more fluent but they tempered their risk knowing the target was small. Stoinis, having entered at 43 for 3, had played nicely for his 23 not out from 20 but with two runs to win he was hit on the right thumb by Jamie Overton and immediately walked off to the rooms to get it assessed. However, he returned to do media after the game and was optimistic about his thumb.

"I think I'll probably be getting the scan, but I think it's okay," Stoinis said. "Just sort of precautionary at the end, when you're right near the end of an innings, I think. Initially it feels like nothing, and then after about 10 seconds you feel something. And it's probably just not worth the risk at that stage of the game, I guess. And to be honest, their boys were really good. Lynny [Chris Lynn] and Shorty {Matt Short] came up and said, mate, get off. You've got two runs to go and so get off. So right decision in the end."

Tom Rogers, coming off a blistering 19-ball half-century, had earlier struggled for timing but guided Stars most of the way home with 32. Strikers only picking two front-line seamers and three specialist wristspinners also aided them in the back-end of the chase.

Curran's performance came on another bowler-friendly surface at the MCG. Despite a distinct lack of grass and it having a light-brown sheen to it, Strikers made batting look just as difficult as Stars did when Sydney Sixers bowled them out for 128 recently.

"It went up, it went down and it nipped," Stoinis said. "It was a tough surface. I think it's tough for T20 cricket.

"It was the same wicket [as the Sixers game], I think they just took some grass off that. We had a conversation after that last game, and we wanted a better surface, and I think that's what they tried to do. It's obviously hard, and they're doing their best, but it's not ideal for us."

Curran exploited the conditions with impeccable lengths and the use of the wobble seam and cutters. Alex Carey was the first to go, miscuing an attempted lofted drive straight to mid-off. Haris Rauf took an outstanding diving catch to his left but he did celebrate by throwing the ball away before completing his roll. It did prompt questions as to whether he had completed the catch appropriately under the laws but Carey was sent on his way without a check with the third umpire.

A review was called for by Chris Lynn when he was hit on the back pad by an excellent delivery from Curran that ducked in off the seam. The review was lost after ball tracking showed three reds.

Strikers were 14 for 2 after the powerplay and it was just the eighth instance in the BBL's four-over powerplay era of a team failing to score a boundary. One ball later Peter Siddle had a wicket with Short edging behind trying to late cut a ball climbing close to off.

Sensing the moment, Stoinis kept Curran going to bowl out his four inside the first 10 and it paid handsome dividends. Jason Sangha tried to slap Curran off his relentless length and only managed to pick out cover.

Liam Scott finally broke the shackles with back-to-back boundaries off Rauf but he fell in similar fashion to Short to hand Curran his fourth in his final over and leave Strikers 40 for 5.

"He bowled brilliantly again," Stoinis said. "He's bowling so well, I've pushed to just keep him on and bowling four in the first 10 two games in a row. It's rare, but taking early wickets, we know how crucial that is in T20 cricket. So hats off to him."

That quickly became 55 for 9 with a trio of horrible shots from the lower order to hand Swepson three wickets. Overton tried to cut a good-length legbreak on middle and was clean bowled. Hasan Ali holed out to deep forward square first ball and Lloyd Pope was also stumped for a duck trying to hit his fellow legspinner into the Shane Warne stand. In between, Harry Manenti was pinned lbw by an excellent Stoinis slower ball.

Strikers were in danger of posting their lowest BBL score and the second lowest in league history. But their two other wristspinners in Cameron Boyce and Tabraiz Shamsi toughed it out to face all bar the last three balls of the innings. Boyce took a blow to the helmet from Rauf before hitting Swepson into the sightscreen. He finished with the innings top score of 20. Curiously it was the first time he had been dismissed in his last five BBL innings dating back to January 2024, having scored 74 off 55 in that time with six fours and three sixes.

Stars' batting powerplay in the chase was worse than Strikers with the in-form Sam Harper, playing his 100th BBL match, caught brilliantly at deep wide third by sub fielder Mackenzie Harvey diving forward. Campbell Kellaway miscued to mid-on off Hasan to leave them 13 for 2 after four overs. Skipper Matt Short pushed his seamers as far as he could before turning to spin but once he did, runs started to flow. Scott returned for another over and Blake Macdonald holed out. But Rogers and Stoinis cruised thereafter.

Stars travel to Perth on Saturday where a win against Scorchers would lock in a top-two spot and a double chance. Strikers have only pride to play for in their final home game against Melbourne Renegades.