The Melbourne Stars’ bid for a maiden BBL title has begun brightly, demolishing reigning champions Hobart by eight wickets at the MCG.
A vintage performance from 41-year-old Peter Siddle and a barnstorming 62 no-out from Marcus Stoinis has helped power the Melbourne Stars to a confidence-boosting eight-wicket upset of reigning BBL champions Hobart.
Siddle’s 3-30 helped restrict the Hurricanes to an underwhelming 9-158 after Stars captain Marcus Stoinis elected to bowl first at the MCG, before he himself starred with the bat to guide his side over the line.
The Stars then coasted to victory, reaching 2-159 with 24 balls to spare, Stoinis (62 not out from 31 balls) and Campbell Kellaway (41no off 27) handling the chase with ease as the skipper ended the match with a six.
The only BBL franchise yet to claim a title after the Hurricanes’ success last summer, the Stars couldn’t have started this campaign any better.
Veteran matchwinner Glenn Maxwell opening the bowling, with his gentle offspin working wonders, dismissing the dangerous Mitch Owen from the fourth ball of the game.
Owen, who smashed a memorable century in last season’s final, holed out on the boundary to Hilton Cartwright, who had dropped a catch off the previous delivery.
That dismissal started the rot for the Hurricanes, with Siddle and fellow paceman Haris Rauf cleaning up the tail with 4-6 in the final eight balls of the innings.
First playing domestic cricket back in 2005, Siddle committed to the Stars again this season after bagging 12 wickets in the 2024-25 campaign.
The 67-Test evergreen, who retired from international cricket in 2019, ended his Victorian career last summer, but has kept fit for another BBL tilt.
Siddle played in a 10-over league in Canada in October, before fronting up for the PM’s XI against England in Canberra last month.
Ben McDermott played a lone hand for the Hurricanes, crafting a well-made 69 after arriving at the crease in the second over.
Combining with Tim David, McDermott threatened to push Hobart to a competitive score.
Maxwell, arguably the world’s best outfielder, pulled off another stunning catch when he helped dismiss former Australia teammate Matthew Wade.
The Stars’ master blaster was able to jump over the boundary rope and then throw the ball back to himself, making the difficult effort look extremely easy.
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
STA
1
1
0
0
0
2.037
0
2
2
SCO
1
1
0
0
0
1.235
0
2
3
REN
1
1
0
0
0
0.7
0
2
4
STR
1
1
0
0
0
0.326
0
2
5
HUR
2
1
1
0
0
-0.906
0
2
6
THU
1
0
1
0
0
-0.126
0
0
7
SIX
2
0
2
0
0
-0.616
0
0
8
HEA
1
0
1
0
0
-0.7
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
