'Out of line': Record-breaking Stoinis addresses BBL slur

Marcus Stoinis has stressed his regret for the homophobic slur that earnt him a $7,500 fine from Cricket Australia, admitting the incident may even have affected him during the early stages of his record-breaking KFC BBL century on Sunday.

A week after being sanctioned by CA for personal abuse directed at Melbourne Renegades fast bowler Kane Richardson, Stoinis blasted the highest elite-level T20 score ever on Australian soil to continue his remarkable Big Bash run-spree.

His unbeaten 147 off only 79 balls saw his tournament tally grow to 478, 159 runs more than the next best, as the ladder-leading Stars romped to a 44-run win over the second-placed Sydney Sixers to solidify their status as the BBL09 title favourites.

The 30-year-old's feats came in the wake of last week's incident with Richardson, who on Sunday condemned Stoinis for the outburst but conceded it was "out of character".

"I've definitely carried it with me … even today, that's probably why I was nervous. It doesn't sit well with my character and who I want to be," said Stoinis, who has developed a strong friendship with Richardson while the pair had previously enjoyed an entertaining on-field BBL rivalry.

"I've spoken to Kane, but … it's not the type of person I am and it's not who I want to be. I understand it's out of line. It's not how I was raised. I'm not proud of it but I've just got to cop that on the chin and roll with it now.

"Hopefully other people learn from my mistakes and unfortunately that's all you can do, you can't take anything back. You've got to show it with your actions going forward.

"There's absolutely no excuses. He's a good mate and over the last couple of games we've played he's wound me up a few times and it's absolutely no excuse to use words like that.

"That's what he was trying to do, he was trying to get a reaction out of me. Unfortunately I took that bait and went too far."

Stoinis said his maiden T20 ton was among the best knocks he had ever played as he looks to build his case for a recall to Australia's limited-overs sides.

The hulking right-hander smashed eight sixes as he and Hilton Cartwright's record 209-run partnership fired the Stars to the biggest ever BBL total at the MCG.

Stoinis began last year as Australia's first-choice ODI and T20 allrounder, as well as being on the verge of earning a Baggy Green when he was called into Australia's Test squad last summer, but now finds himself on the outer in all formats following a lean 50-over World Cup.

While the most obvious route back into the T20 side ahead of this year's World Cup appears to be as a middle-order finisher, coach Justin Langer has told him batting at the top of the order in the BBL will not count against him.

"I know they want me to rotate the strike better early in my innings, but I know all these things," said Stoinis.

"I'm just going to express myself on the field and let my cricket do the talking, win games for my team and also have as much fun as I can.

"I've spoken to 'JL' about that (his batting position for the Stars) as well and he said, 'we're not going to ask you to change where you bat in the order.'

"I've played quite a bit of IPL (Indian Premier League) and all of that has pretty much been in the middle order.

"The main thing is I'm playing for the Melbourne Stars and we want to win games and I want to bat wherever they need me to bat.

"These are just the different hats you've got to wear and the different plates you've got to spin. Hopefully it all sorts itself out in the end."

Already the standout candidate to take out player-of-the-tournament honours, Stoinis' value is set to soar further when he resumes bowling in coming games having recovered from a foot injury.

The right-arm quick was one of Australia's go-to death bowlers in ODIs leading into and during last year's World Cup, during which he injured both his sides but kept playing.

"I haven't been able to bowl at training and really test it out and also it's been a month (without bowling) now so I've got to get my skills in order," said Stoinis.

"But the body is good."