Maxwell posts career-best BBL score but Denly, Maddinson lead Sixers to fourth straight win
Match Report:
ScorecardHot Sixers down the fallen Stars
The score: Melbourne Stars 5-189 (Maxwell 84, Quiney, Brathwaite 2-31) defeated by Sydney Sixers 5-190 (Denly 72, Maddinson 61, Gulbis 2-22, Hastings 2-27) by five wickets.
Match in a tweet: Maxi sublime, but Maddinson and Denly even better as fearless Sixers continue hot late form in dead-rubber victory over struggling Stars #BBL07
The hero: Overlooked for Australia's T20 squad, Nic Maddinson continued his strong BBL form with a rollicking knock at the top of the order. In a remarkable sequence with Joe Denly – with whom he put on 108 off just 40 balls for the second wicket – the Sixers pair struck eight consecutive fours, with Maddinson finding the fence off every ball of James Faulkner's second over in the Power Play. He equaled his own record for the fastest Sixers' fifty and while ball-tracking suggested he was unlucky to be given lbw to John Hastings in the 10th over, his 26-ball 61 had broken the back of the Sixers' chase.
The support cast: While the Maddinson show was going along at full pace, Joe Denly quietly played a key hand down the other end. After Maddinson departed to end their remarkable partnership, Denly took ownership of the chase with his hitting over cover a delightful feature of his 45-ball 72. The English import is hardly a household name but his arrival has coincided with the Sixers playing their best cricket of the tournament.
The consolation effort: Despite requiring constant medical attention from a lingering issue with conjunctivitis and a suspected pinched nerve in his side, Maxwell overcame both to post his highest-ever BBL score of 84. Promoted to No.3 in the absence of Kevin Pietersen – who missed with a back complaint – Maxwell immediately took on the Sixers bowlers despite the Stars slumping to 2-18 inside the fourth over. He slammed Sean Abbott for back-to-back sixes off the third and fourth balls of his innings, and while he hurt his side attempting to reverse sweep off-spinner Nathan Lyon, he plowed on and finished with four sixes and seven fours
The catch: The great Ricky Ponting reckons this snare from Even Gulbis was "as good, if not better" than Ben Laughlin and Jake Weatherald's effort from the previous night…
The six: Didn't Maddinson get onto this! Stars quick Daniel Worrall copped the brunt of one of the biggest sixes of the summer – a 102-metre monster - which went flying into the upper deck of the SCG.
The ball: It's hard to go past this early effort from recent Australia T20 call-up Ben Dwarshuis, who undid Stars opener Ben Dunk with a perfectly-placed slower ball that beat the left-hander's inside edge and clipped the top of the stumps.
The injury: Jordan Silk suffered a serious blow during the Stars' innings after attempting to stop a four on the long-on boundary. He immediately pulled up in pain and was accompanied off the field with Sixers medical staff. He did not bat and it was later confirmed he'd suffered a fractured collarbone.
The fantasy stars: Denly did best with 130 fantasy points, with Maxwell close behind with 126. Next best were Maddinson (81), Gulbis (80) and James Faulkner (68).
The next stops: Sydney Sixers will briefly rise to fourth spot following their fourth straight win but it's too little too late, as they remain no hope of staying there having now played all 10 of their allotted games. The Stars too are out of the finals reckoning and play their final match against Hoabrt Hurricanes on Saturday in front of their home fans in what will be Kevin Pietersen's farewell to Australia.
.@SixersBBL XI: Joe Denly, Daniel Hughes, Nic Maddinson, Moises Henriques, Jordan Silk, Carlos Brathwaite, Johan Botha, Peter Nevill, Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Lyon #BBL07%E2%80%94 KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 23, 2018
.@StarsBBL XI: Peter Handscomb, Rob Quiney, Ben Dunk, Glenn Maxwell, Sebastian Gotch, Evan Gulbis, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Michael Beer, Dan Worrall, Liam Bowe #BBL07%E2%80%94 KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 23, 2018