Stoinis, Stars smash Sixers as records tumble

The match in a tweet: Marcus the mighty becomes Marcus the mightiest! Stoinis' breathtaking, jaw-dropping century sees records tumble and ladder-leading Stars fire a warning shot to their competitors #BBL09 

The scores: Melbourne Stars 1-219 (Stoinis 147*, Cartrwight 59) defeated the Sydney Sixers 7-175 (Dwarshuis 42, Henriques 41, Silk 32; Hinchliffe 3-20) by 44 runs.

The hero: Marcus Stoinis' already dominant KFC BBL campaign soared to new heights after smashing the highest score in the tournament's history and put on arguably the most spectacular T20 batting display ever seen on Australian soil.

Stoinis belted eight sixes as he helped himself to an unbeaten 147 from just 79 balls as he and Hilton Cartwright's 207-run opening stand set a new record for the biggest ever BBL partnership. 

While his straight hitting was spectacular, five of his 11 sixes came over fine leg as the Sixers pace bowlers were left clueless for a way to put the brakes on the powerful right-hander.

His maiden T20 century was a masterclass in how to approach an innings from the top of the order in the shortest format; after scoring just seven off his first 11 balls, he then smacked 27 off the next 11 as he attacked the Sixers' bowlers with the early field restrictions in place.

His first 50 runs came from 36 balls, as he exploded to take 26 off one Tom Curran over before celebrating a 60-ball ton by holding his bat up vertically and resting his helmet on its end.

The breathtaking onslaught continued as he helped the hosts take 96 from the final six overs, with his tournament run tally swelling to 478 runs at 79.66 from nine innings.

That's 159 more than the next best batter (Shaun Marsh, with 319 runs) to underline his standing as this summer's standout short-form batter and to surely put him in contention for a national T20 recall.

The supporting cast: Sixers batter Daniel Hughes at one stage half-jokingly suggested on the mic for Fox Cricket that it may be better to keep Cartwright in to keep Glenn Maxwell away from the crease.

But Cartwright could hardly have complemented Stoinis better, facing nearly half as many deliveries as his opening partner as the duo eclipsed the previous partnership record of 172 set by former Stars openers Rob Quiney and Luke Wright. Perhaps the greatest indicator of Cartwright's selfless performance was the fact Stoinis equaled the record for the most balls ever faced in a T20 innings.

That's not to say he didn't have his moments; as his fellow Western Australian was biding his time for his late blitz, Cartwright hit three sixes of his own through the middle overs before the Sixers finally took a wicket when he exited for a 40-ball 59.

The punishment: It was a night to forget for pace duo Curran and Ben Dwarshuis, whose eight overs cost the Sixers 119 runs. Dwarshuis' return of 0-61 ensured Ben Laughlin's figures of 0-60 on Saturday night lasted just 24 hours as the worst ever recorded in the BBL. He did go some way to making up for his expensive night with the ball by top-scoring with the bat in an unbeaten 42 including three sixes, though as entertaining as his 17-ball knock was, it came when the match was already gone. 

 Curran was not far off Dwarshuis, conceding 38 from his final two overs to see his figures to balloon to 1-58. Melbourne has not been a happy hunting ground for Curran; Sunday's game was the second time in 10 days the Englishman has returned those exact figures, having also taken 1-58 against the Renegades earlier this month at Marvel Stadium.

The records:

- Stoinis' 147 not out was the highest score in BBL history, eclipsing D'Arcy Short's unbeaten 122 against the Brisbane Heat from BBL|07, as well as the biggest in any T20 game in Australia, with Shane Watson (124 not out in a T20 international against India at the SCG in 2016) the previous record holder.

- Stoinis also equaled Aaron Finch's record for the most balls faced in a T20 innings of 79. Finch made an unbeaten 131 for Surrey against Sussex in 2018 from his 79 deliveries.

- Stoinis and Cartwright's 207-run opening partnership was the biggest stand for any wicket in the BBL, Quiney and Wright's 172-run opening partnership back in BBL02. Coincidentally both Quiney (on commentary for radio station SEN) and Wright (an assistant coach with the Stars) were on hand to witness their record being broken.

- The Stars' 1-219 was the third highest T20 score ever in the BBL and the biggest at the MCG. Only the Renegades (who posted 4-222 against the Hurricanes in BBL|06) and the Hurricanes (who successfully chased down that tally from the final ball to finish on 8-223) have posted bigger totals.

- Dwarshuis' 0-61 were the worst bowling figures ever in the BBL. Laughlin, who took 0-60 on Saturday night, and Daniel Worrall, who also returned 0-60 in BBL|04, jointly held the previous record.

The consolation effort: There was little to cheer for Sydney Sixers supporters, thought Moises Henriques' 25-ball 41 briefly gave the visitors hope of pulling off an outrageous run chase. Henriques, returning to skipper the Sixers after the birth of his first child earlier this week, slog-swept an enormous six over mid-wicket as the Sixers scored 90 off their first 10 overs.

Yet even with a solid start the required run-rate ballooned out to 13-an-over as regular wickets tumbled, including Henriques' falling victim to impressive left-arm wrist-spinner Clinton Hinchliffe, who took 3-20 from his four overs in the former Perth Scorcher's finest outing in the BBL.

The drop: Poor Worrall looked as shocked as anyone when he put down this catch off James Vince, on 12, though he breathed a sigh of relief as the Englishman only added a further four runs before Maxwell safely pouched him on the leg-side boundary.

The next stop: The Stars have solidified their status as the BBL|09 favourites, taking a four-point (or two-win) lead atop the standings ahead of the second-placed Sixers. Maxwell's men now play the Perth Scorchers in back-to-back games, over at Optus Stadium on Wednesday and then back at the MCG on Saturday. The Sixers meanwhile head home to host the Hobart Hurricanes at the SCG on Thursday before the second Sydney derby of the season against the Thunder on Saturday at the Showgrounds.