Allrounder hit on the thumb while batting late in the Stars’ win over the Strikers
Melbourne Stars captain Marcus Stoinis is confident he will be given the all-clear after an injury scare ahead of the BBL finals and T20 World Cup.
The 36-year-old allrounder was hit on the right thumb by a rising delivery from Adelaide Strikers bowler Jamie Overton during the Stars’ six-wicket win on Tuesday night.
He retired hurt as a precaution, with the Stars firmly in control and needing just two more runs to win at that point.
But the injury has caused concern, with the Stars chasing a long-awaited BBL title and some of Stoinis’ Australian teammates already under clouds ahead of the World Cup.
Pat Cummins (back), Josh Hazlewood (calf and Achilles) and Tim David (hamstring) are all racing the clock to be fit for the global showpiece, which starts on February 7.
“I think I’ll probably be getting a scan, but I reckon it’s alright,” Stoinis said while icing the thumb after the Stars’ win.
“Initially it feels like nothing and after about 10 seconds you feel something, and it’s probably just not worth the risk at that stage of the game.”
Stoinis said Strikers players Chris Lynn and Matt Short “talked some sense into me” and suggested he retire hurt, with the result already beyond doubt.
“It was the right decision in the end,” he said.
Stoinis has broken fingers while batting in the past and said the latest setback had caused some nerves.
“It was nothing at the start and then after about 10 seconds your hand starts shaking a bit and you’re a bit nervous about it,” Stoinis said.
“I think it’s alright, but not worth pushing it, I guess.”
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Stoinis’ injury came on a tricky wicket, on which Adelaide were skittled for 83 after being sent in to bat first.
It was the second-lowest total in Strikers history and third-lowest by any BBL team at the MCG, yet the Stars took 15.1 overs to reach the meagre victory target.
Stoinis was hesitant to discuss the surface, in the wake of last month’s controversy surrounding the Boxing Day Test pitch at the same venue.
The Ashes contest lasted two days, costing Cricket Australia millions in revenue, and brought heat on head curator Matt Page.
“I’m always nervous with what you say these days about that sort of stuff, but I’m sure you guys could see it was a tough surface,” Stoinis said of the BBL strip.
“It’s tough for T20 cricket. Without getting into trouble, I’d just love to have these conversations and hopefully play on good wickets.
“It was the same wicket (as the previous match), but they just took some grass off.
“We had a conversation after that last game and we wanted a better surface.
“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.
“It went up, it went down and it nipped.”
The Stars’ win over Adelaide guaranteed their BBL finals berth and they could lock in a top-two spot with their last regular-season fixture, away to fellow contenders Perth on Saturday.
KFC BBL|15 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Total points
PTS
1
HUR
9
6
2
0
1
0.398
0
13
2
STA
9
6
3
0
0
1.031
0
12
3
SCO
8
5
3
0
0
1.162
0
10
4
SIX
8
4
3
0
1
0.458
0
9
5
HEA
8
4
4
0
0
-0.446
0
8
6
STR
9
3
6
0
0
-0.625
0
6
7
REN
8
3
5
0
0
-0.686
0
6
8
THU
9
2
7
0
0
-1.182
0
4
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
