Colin Munro helped The Brisbane Heat has get its Big Bash League campaign off to the perfect start, thumping the Melbourne Stars by 103 runs in a one-sided contest at the Gabba.
Australia stars Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, who were part of the World Cup-winning side, struggled to make an impact with the bat in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2023-24 opener, putting their side, Melbourne Stars, in a precarious position against Brisbane Heat.
The Brisbane Heat registered a massive total of 214 for 3 as Colin Munro batted through the innings to finish 99 not out with nine fours and five sixes,guiding the hosts towards 3-214, the club’s second-highest team total in BBL history.
Colin Munro gets stranded at 99
The 36-year-old, who has never scored a century for the Heat, watched from the non-striker’s end as teammate Max Bryant slapped the final three deliveries towards the boundary, prompting boos from the Brisbane crowd.
“Munro batted beautifully, he made it look so easy out there,” Heat captain Usman Khawaja told Fox Cricket after the match.
Khawaja (28 from 19 balls) was gifted an extra life in the first over, dropped at point for 2, while Munro was handed a massive reprieve on 58, with Tom Rogers the culprit on both occasions.
Australian Test batter Marnus Labuschagne, later dismissed by Joel Paris for 30 (23), should have been run out in the 13th over, but Joe Burns’ throw at the striker’s end was wayward.
Munro combined with Khawaja for a 66-run opening stand and Labuschagne for an 82-run partnership, clearing the boundary rope five times throughout his blistering knock. Heat gloveman Sam Billings (18 from 11 deliveries) and Bryant (15 not out from seven balls) provided some late fireworks,
The Stars never looked like reeling in the target, rolled for 111 in 15.1 overs to leave a heavy dent in its net run rate.
Chasing 215 for a win in the BBL opener, Melbourne Stars were off to a horror start as Michael Neser removed both openers Thomas Rogers and Sam Harper in the first over.
Captain Maxwell walked in to join Joe Burns in the middle as the Stars duo added 42 runs for the third wicket in five overs, looking to revive their team’s chase. However, just when the two started to look dangerous, Heat spinner Matthew Kuhnemann removed Maxwell, who had hit three boundaries and one six in his 14-ball innings, for 23. Stoinis walked out to bat next but failed to hit a single boundary as another Heat spinner, Mitchell Swepson, accounted for his wicket with the all-rounder managing to score only two runs.
The visitors let themselves down in the field after captain Glenn Maxwell won the bat flip and elected to bowl first, dropping two catches and missing a run-out chance.
With the exception of a rapid blitz from Hilton Cartwright, who clobbered 33 from 16 balls, the rest of the Stars batters toppled like dominoes. Swepson finished with 3-23 from 3.1 overs, while Brisbane quick Xavier Bartlett, who conceded just eight runs from his three-over spell, helped clean up the tail with two late scalps.
The Heat will next face the Adelaide Strikers at Adelaide Oval on Saturday evening,
Notably, Maxwell has been shortlisted for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month after a prolific November, which included arguably one of the great World Cup performances against Afghanistan in Mumbai. Chasing down 292 for victory after being 91 for seven, Maxwell smashed 31 boundaries in his unbeaten 201 to seal Australia’s safe passage to the knockout stages. Fast-forward to the final, and Maxwell again made key contributions, bowling a disciplined spell and removing the threat of Rohit Sharma before hitting the winning runs. Not done there, Maxwell also starred in the subsequent T20I matches against India, hitting 104 not out in 48 balls in the third encounter in Guwahati.