• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Bbl10 Mls Vs Brh Coulter Nile And Cartwright Shine As Heat Get Decimated By Stars

BBL10 | MLS vs BRH: Coulter-Nile and Cartwright shine as Heat get decimated by Stars


Melbourne Stars began their BBL 10 campaign with an emphatic victory over Brisbane Heat, showing signs of domination very early in the tournament. Hilton Cartwright played the anchor role as other batsmen, including captain Glenn Maxwell, chipped in to chase an easy total of 126 with 17 balls remaining. 

The Coulter-Nile Act

Batting first after losing the toss, the Brisbane team never got the start that they badly wanted. A start-stop innings was seen going nowhere. Nathan Coulter-Nile, prime destroyer of the Heat innings, got into the act as soon as he got the ball, cleaning up the opener Max Bryant, who was looking to let loose after a cautious start. 

Bryant was not the only one that got trapped in the Coulter-Nile Act. Any player that looked like settling in was trapped by the Western Australian seamer. In his 3.5 overs, the 33-year-old took four prized scalps of Bryant, Heat skipper Chris Lynn, Jimmy Peirson, and bowler Matthew Kuhnemann, giving away just 10 runs. For this piece of brilliance, Coulter-Nile was adjudged Man of the Match. 

Once again fielding team 'surges' past new rules

One of the new rules, the ‘Power Surge’, which was supposed to be a game-changer for the batting team, has turned out to be a dull affair so far for the team in need as it is the bowling side that has used it better. In this game too, Heat couldn’t really get the hang of it as, at first they were not in a great position to use it, and when they did take it in the 12th over, it rather gave the opposition two wickets with only 15 runs coming from the power surge overs. 

In the last game too, Sydney Sixers, even after winning the Bash Boost for going ahead of  Hobart Hurricanes in the first half of their chase, got the power surge horribly wrong and could only score 46 in the last six overs. 

Cartwright and Stars' brilliance in field

Cartwright’s fielding has been among the best in BBL and the league itself is the gold standard of fielding when it comes to such tournaments. While Heat were trying to rebuild their innings after a slow start, after the setback of losing Bryant early, it was really the run out of an impressive-looking Dan Lawrence that started the downfall. 

A direct hit from mid-on from Cartwright got his wicket. There seemed to be no chance of a runout and therefore, Lawrence didn’t even try to dive, only to find himself short of the crease. Cartwright then showed his brilliance again as he ran a long way back, from mid on to the long-on boundary, to catch Simon Milenko’s on the rise shot.

Along with Cartwright, other Stars players were also brilliant in the field. As a result of this, there were a total of three run-outs in the Heat innings. 

Glimmer of hope for Heat

When Heat took the field they entered with a lot of energy and took two quick wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Andre Fletcher to get themselves in the game. The youngster Jack Wood, making his debut, took out Ben Dunk to make it 34 for 3 in the seventh over, forcing skipper Lynn to get in a slip for him. 

With the pressure building via dot balls, at one point, Heat seemed like taking an important point through the Bash Boost rule as they had pushed the equation to 15 from 8 balls to get past 60 in 10 overs, the score that they had made in their first 10 overs. 

Big Show deals a big blow

Maxwell, however, had other ideas. He hit Wood for a six and four and took the equation down to just 5 from the next six balls, which the stars reached with much ease. The Big Show didn’t stop here as he wanted to end the game as fast as possible. 

He started tearing the Heat bowling apart and in no time, the Stars were near their target. From a point when they were struggling to win the Bash Boost point to sensing victory in under 17 overs, it took just 26 balls for Maxwell to bring in the difference. Cartwright and Maxwell's 75-run partnership in just 51 balls was the key. While Maxwell was eventually bowled by the 24-year-old Wood for 46 from 26 balls, Cartwright remained not out on 42. 

What's next?

With four points, now the Stars have occupied the top of the table spot as the matches rotate between the two cities of Canberra and Hobart for the first leg. On 12th December, Saturday, there is a doubleheader, one of which involves the Stars who would face Sydney Thunder in what would be Thunder’s first game. The second game would be between Melbourne Renegades and Perth Scorchers. 

Powered by Froala Editor

Powered by Froala Editor

Discover more
Top Stories
news

Jasprit Bumrah stars with the bat against Australia A on 20-wicket day

Jasprit Bumrah was the star of day 1 in Indian team's second practice match in Australia - against Australia A at Sydney. However, on a day where 20 wickets fell, the Indian pacer stole the show not with his bowling but, surprisingly, with his batting. Bumrah, a regular no. 11 in the Indian team, scored the only half-century in the entire day, remaining not out on 55. It was a 71-run partnership for the last wicket between Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj which got India to a score of 194 in their first-innings. This may have seemed a highly disappointing result for the Indian team, until the opposition starting batting on the same wicket. Thanks to a collective bowling effort from Indian pacers, with Mohammad Shami leading the way by picking up three wickets, India bundled out their opponents for just 108. Navdeep Saini also picked up three scalps in the innings while Bumrah got two. Siraj got one wicket while a run-out completed the innings. The 86-run lead for India should be enough on this wicket to provide them safety and push them towards a positive result. At the start of the day, Indian team had reason to be happy as the two up and coming stars in the line-up, Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, looked in terrific form. Gill came in to bat after the fall of the first wicket - Mayank Agarwal for a personal score of just 2. Shaw batted with great aggression and scored 40 off just 29 balls while Gill managed 43 in 58. Their 63-run partnership took India to 72/1, but then a collapse ensued. The tourists were 123/9 when Bumrah and Siraj lifted their team up to a challenging score. Sean Abbot and Jack Wildermuth starrted for Australia A team with three wickets each. Cameron Green, centurious from the last match, picked up one wicket before having to go off the ground due to a blow to the head, from a drive by Bumrah. Due to him suffering concussion, he was substituted by Patrick Rowe. Gill, Shaw, and Agarwal would all look to make a mark tomorrow. These two are not just competing against each other for a spot in the team but also, with Rohit Sharma declared fit for the last two games, with the latter also.

news

Henry Nicholls stars for New Zealand on Day 1 of Second Test against West Indies

On another extremely green wicket, West Indies captain Jason Holder decided to put the opposition in to bat. New Zealand decided to use their existing opening pair of Tom Latham and Tom Blundell. With Kemar Roach out of the team, West Indies gave a Test debut to one of their stars from the 2016 Under-19 World Cup-winning side, Chemar Holder. But it was the senior Holder who opened the bowling with Shannon Gabriel, the latter playing in his 50th Test. It was Gabriel who got the first breakthrough with a magnificent in-swinging delivery that castled Blundell. When Chemar Holder was introduced into the attack, he immediately started bowling a positive full length and reaped the reward by getting Latham to nick one to debutante keeper Joshua Da Silva. West Indies were in the game and their chances improved when Ross Taylor was dismissed by Gabriel cheaply. At the other end, Will Young, playing only his second Test, looked impressive and was heading for a half-century. But his innings was also cut short by Gabriel who was his team's best bowler. Then, the home side were rescued by Henry Nicholls with a brilliant hundred. He was ably assisted, first by BJ Watling, with whom Nicholls added 55, and then Daryll Mitchell who had an 83-run stand with the centurion. At the end of day's play, New Zealand looked in a relatively comfortable condition, at 294/6. Nicholls is unbeaten on 117 and Kyle Jamieson is batting on 1. For West Indies, Gabriel was the leading bowler, finishing the day with figures of 3/57 while the debutante Chemar Holder got two wickets for 65 runs. The only positive for West Indies is the fact that the pitch at Wellington can get better for batting with time. A score of less than 350 by the home side may not be completely unreachable for Windies.

news

Green doubtful for first Test after being concussed through a Bumrah drive

Australian all-rounder Cameroon Green, hoping for a Test debut in the first Test between Australia and India has been concussed and replaced from the Warm-Up game against India at Sydney Cricket Ground. He was hit on the side of his head by a Jasprit Bumrah straight drive. Green was straightaway taken off the field and has now been concussion subbed by Patrick Rowe. Bowling his seventh over of the day, As soon as Bumrah hit the ball, Green was struck on the side of the head as the ball burst through his hands and on to the temple. Just as the ball hit, the Non-striker Mohd. Siraj ran to him and checked if he was okay. Although he got up quite alright, according to the protocol, was taken off the ground and substituted by Rowe. Pip Inge, Cricket Australia team doctor said that his situation is being monitored. "Cameron sustained a mild concussion while bowling for Australia A. This is Cameron's first concussion. He has returned to the team hotel and will not play the remaining two days of the tour match,” she said. "We will continue to monitor him and provide an update on his condition in due course," the doctor added. As for the Warm-Up match, India were all out for 194, and it could have been way less than that if it weren’t for the Jasprit Bumrah fifty and a 71 run stand between him and Mohammad Siraj. For Australia A, the pick of the bowlers were Sean Abbot and Jack Wildermuth who both took three wickets. Green took the wicket of Shubman Gill. In reply, at the time of writing this news, Australia A were 97/8 with Mohammed Shami picking up three wickets and Bumrah and Saini sharing two a piece.

news

BBL 10 | Stars vs Thunder: Match Preview, Predicted XI, and more

Melbourne Stars would take the field again on Saturday in the ongoing 10th season of the Big Bash League (BBL) after their match against Brisbane Heat on Friday. The second match for the Stars in as many days will be against Sydney Thunder and would have an early start, giving the Glenn Maxwell-led side even less of a time to recover. The match against Thunder should be an exciting contest. Riding high after a comfortable victory in their opening game, Stars would be upbeat. But Thunder also have a talented squad. For the Melbourne-based team, Nathan Coulter-Nile has already hit his stride by getting four wickets against Brisbane Heat. His contest against the likes of Usman Khawaja, Alex Hales, and Callum Ferguson would be worth watching. On the other hand, Thunder also have a decent bowling attack with Adam Milne providing the pace, Daniel Sams the death-overs bowling skill, and others in supporting role. Against such an attack, the big hitting prowess of Glenn Maxwell and co. would be fully tested. Thunder in Canberra The signing of New Zealand speedster Milne is a good one but whether it works or not depends on how much control the fast bowler has on his line and length. Since the Manuka Oval in Canberra is a small ground, any error by the Kiwi bowler would give the batsmen an opportunity to utilise the pace and clear the boundary. The man most likely to do so is the captain of the opposition, Maxwell. He has regained his form and was hitting the ball beautifully in the recent series against India. A contest between him and Milne will be worth watching. All eyes would also be focussed on Sams. After a very impressive season last year, he fumbled badly when given an opportunity to shine at the international level. In the recently-concluded T20I series against India, he went for quite a few runs and failed to defend 14 runs needed by India in the final over of one of the matches. Whether that was a case of slipping on the big stage or a deeper problem would be found out this season. It would be very exciting if Thunder pick 18-year old Tanveer Sangha, the leg-spinner who impressed earlier this year in the Under-19 World Cup. Throwing such a young and inexperienced player in the deep end is a risky proposition. But it could also give an insight into his character. Overall, Thunder look good going into their first game. They haven't been much affected by the withdrawal of foreign and even Australian players. While Alex Hales is back in the team, so is Usman Khawaja. Can Stars Recover in Time T20 cricket isn't as demanding as the longer formats, still one wonders whether the Melbourne-team can get themselves geared up again less than 24 hours after finishing another match. Whatever be the case, it would be Maxwell again around whom Stars' batting would revolve. The good innings played by Hilton Cartwright shows that the middle order has another capable players. Both these batsmen should get some support from the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Ben Dunk, despite these two failing in the first match of the season. Another player to watch out for would be Andre Fletcher. The West Indian has been chosen to open the innings. A failure in the first match is a bad start, but not the end of the world. It's the bowling where Stars' seem to be well endowed. With Coulter-Nile getting four wickets in the opening match, the team would feel a boost. Adam Zampa has been in great form this season. He would be a big asset for his team and a strike bowler at that. Billy Stanlake can be quite handy on his day. Overall, the bowling seems to be the stronger suit for Stars. Their batting is yet to fully hit its stride. Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Thunder: Match Details Venue: Manuka Oval, Canberra Broadcasters: Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV Time and Date: December 12, 10:35 AM IST, 4:05 PM Local, 5:05 AM GMT Pitch Report The pitch at Canberra has been flat and batsman-friendly this season. However, in the Stars and Brisbane Heat match, bowlers played a key role. This suggests that some assistance for the bowlers has been added to the wicket. Perhaps, the ball may swing a little. This could again help Coulter-Nile. Weather and Toss While there isn't much chance of rain in Canberra, clouds are expected to be in the sky, interspersed with sunny spells. So, there isn't much chance of weather playing a big part in the game. Once again, what the captains do on winning the toss depends on whether the team wants to defend or chase. Stars may prefer the latter option after their success in the first match. Probable XIs Melbourned Stars: Marcus Stoinis, Andre Fletcher, Hilton Cartwright, Ben Dunk (Wk), Glenn Maxwell (C), Nick Larkin, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Clint Hinchliffe, Adam Zampa, Billy Stanlake, Dilbar Hussain Sydney Thunder: Alex Hales, Usman Khawaja, Callum Ferguson (C), Alex Ross, Matthew Gilkes, Arjun Nair (Wk), Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Jonathan Cook, Adam Milne, Chris Tremain