With their 10 players having tested Covid positive, the Melbourne Stars and their captain Glenn Maxwell didn’t really have much of a choice but to field a playing XI. It was always going to be a tough battle for a below-par Stars side against Perth Scorchers, one of the top-notch sides in the league. It turned out to be the same as they were thrashed by 50 runs to suffer their fourth loss of the tournament.
The chase of 180 was started in great fashion by Stars openers Joe Clarke and Tom Rogers as they added 78 for the first wicket in only 51 balls. However as both of them fell in consecutive overs, it was difficult for the rest of the batters to keep up with the asking rate especially as Maxwell failed to make any significant contribution with the bat.
Apart from Clarke’s 52 and Rogers’ 32, only Charlie Wakim and Hilton Cartwright could get into the double figures as the entire team got all out for 130 in the 19th over. For Scorchers, Tymal Mills, Andrew Tye and Peter Hatzoglou picked three, two and two wickets respectively.
Leg spinner Hatzoglou was given the Player of the Match award for picking two crucial wickets of Maxwell and well set Rogers.
Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first at the Junction Oval, Melbourne, Scorchers didn’t really have a good start as they lost Cameron Bancroft early on in the innings.
However, two in-form batters in Colin Munro and Kurtis Patterson paired up to add 68 runs for the second wicket. While Munro was dismissed for 40 off just 20 balls, Patterson completed his fifty, scoring 54 off 39 balls.
However, post that they lost quick wickets until skipper Ashton Turner scored 27 off 19 balls and Ashton Agar made 19 off 16 balls to take Scorchers to 180-8 in their 20 overs. With this win, the Scorchers have now reached the top of the table having accumulated seven wins out of eight games. They are 2.5 points ahead of second-placed Sydney Sixers.