Philippe tops Maxwell's classy ton to lead Sixers home

Glenn Maxwell's maiden KFC BBL hundred has been outshone by Josh Philippe as the Melbourne Stars suffered their second straight defeat to the Sydney Sixers.

Looking to atone for their 61 all out in the season opener, Stars' skipper Maxwell led the way for the hosts at the MCG with 103 off 57 balls to help his side post an imposing 5-177.

But that didn't deter Sixers young gun Josh Philippe who played perhaps his finest knock in the BBL so far as he finished 99 not out off 61 balls, falling agonisingly short of posting the visitor's first ever century in the competition.

The Sixers lost James Vince (9) early in the chase before skipper Moises Henriques and Philippe smashed a couple of huge sixes to take the score to 84 without further loss.

Australian T20 spinner Adam Zampa then grabbed the crucial wicket of Henriques (29) but Philippe kept going to post his third half century of the tournament as he continued his sensational start to the domestic season.

The 24-year-old was struck a nasty blow on the neck on 60 trying to pull Brody Couch but it didn't seem to faze him as he ramped his next ball over the keeper for four.

Jordan Silk played a handy innings of 25 not out from 19 balls as he and Philippe guided the Sixers home by seven wickets with two balls to spare.

Henriques said both Philippe's and Maxwell's knocks were pretty special to watch.

"Glenn put on a show, that was pretty special batting," he said on Fox Cricket after the game.

"It seemed to be wherever the fielders weren't he was hitting the ball and then Josh at the end basically replicated the same thing, whenever we needed a boundary he found a gap."

Earlier, Maxwell walked to the wicket with the Stars stumbling at 2-6 after both Marcus Stoinis (3) and English import Joe Clarke (0) fell cheaply.

The Stars' skipper's innings should have also ended prematurely on 15 but he was given a lifeline by Lloyd Pope who spilled a chance at fine leg.

The Sixers leg-spinner was then taken for 12 off his first over and was subbed out of the game for allrounder Hayden Kerr at the halfway point of the innings by coach Greg Shipperd.

The Stars posted the lowest four-over Powerplay of the tournament to date with 2-12, beating the Hobart Hurricanes from the previous night as Nick Larkin and Maxwell rebuilt the innings somewhat cautiously taking the score to 59 before Larkin fell to veteran allrounder Dan Christian.

Maxwell then put the foot down as he passed fifty, despatching left-armer Ben Dwarshuis for 20 off the 14th over as he and Hilton Cartwright (23) put on 85 for the fourth wicket.

The 33-year-old took just 19 balls to move from 50 to his maiden BBL century – and his fourth in T20 cricket – as he pushed the Stars total towards nine runs an over before he eventually fell for 103 in the second last over.

It was a pair of centuries for Maxwell on the night as he also brought up 100 sixes in his BBL career when he flicked Dwarshuis over square leg in the fifth over, becoming just the second batter behind Chris Lynn (173) to reach the milestone.

"We lost two wickets early and the run rate wasn't really going anywhere so we needed to take some risks and get the game moving," he said during the innings break.

"I got a little bit of luck but you need to take that in this game.

"What I was able to do was get a couple of easy boundaries off my hip and then they changed their plans to me.

"I thought if they had of stuck over the stumps (there was) a couple more inconsistent areas and it might have been a bit tougher to score.

"Because they went away from their plans, I was able to cash in a bit on the wide stuff and when they bowled to my body, I was able to pick that up."

The win puts the Sixers back on top of the BBL|11 ladder but it was soured by a calf injury to wily spinner Steve O'Keefe.

The Sixers next face the Adelaide Strikers on Tuesday at home while the Stars travel to Tasmania to take on the Hobart Hurricanes on Christmas Eve.

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