Stoinis smashes an unbeaten 75 as well to pile on the misery for Hurricanes
Melbourne Stars 3 for 273 (Maxwell 154*, Stoinis 75*) vs Hobart Hurricanes
He dominated the Hurricanes all round the wicket, with the shot of the night an outrageous switch-hit flick over fly-slip for six. His century was the second-fastest in BBL history, coming in 41 balls and just two shy of Craig Simmons’s 39-ball effort in 2014.
The right-hander helped take 21 off one D’Arcy Short over, while he hit five boundaries for 22 runs off another from Sandeep Lamichhane
He launched six balls over the rope, also taking 26 from a Tim David over as no Hurricanes bowler went at an economy rate below 10 runs.
The knock came after the Stars bowed out of finals contention after the Hurricanes’ win over the Melbourne Renegades on Tuesday, leaving them in sixth place. It comes after the club was forced to play two games without the bulk of their squad while unavailable with Covid-19.
Hurricanes are set to face Adelaide Strikers in an eliminator on Friday regardless of the MCG result, but could face a serious psychological hit after the onslaught from the Stars’ batters.
The finals match will also be played in neutral territory in Melbourne, after Cricket Australia confirmed the first week of finals will be staged in the Victorian capital.
Next week’s preliminary final and decider can then be hosted on home grounds, with the first-placed Perth Scorchers to use Marvel Stadium while locked out of Western Australia.