James Vince became just the second Sixers player to score a BBL century as the men in magenta heaped more misery on the winless Stars with the highest run chase of the BBL season.
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MATCH CENTRE: Sixers vs Stars BBL scorecard, updates and more
His knock in the second innings followed a stunning display from Ben Duckett who dished out some Bazball brilliance just hours after Sam Konstas’ magical knock in what could be a preview for next year’s Ashes.
The Stars have now lost all four of their matches after they failed to defend a monster score of 9/194 thanks to Duckett’s whirlwind 68.
Instead, the Sixers rarely looked troubled as they chased down the total with eight wickets in hand and eleven balls to spare thanks to an unbeaten 101 from Vince who joined Steve Smith as the only player to score a BBL century for the club.
Vince and Josh Philippe (42 off 23) added 83 for the first wicket before Duckett took the first of his two catches, with Vince taking a particular liking to Glenn Maxwell who went for 25 in the second over of the power surge.
The Englishman played normal cricket shots and brought up his hundred off 57 balls as the hosts made a daunting run chase look scarily simple.
It was another perfect chase from the hosts who beat the Thunder on the final ball of the Sydney Smash, but they have another injury concern with Jack Edwards (hamstring tightness) not coming out to bat.
Kohli CRACKS IT after Konstas magic | 01:42
BEN STARS BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH
The English opener was out first ball against the Strikers last week but Duckett bounced back in a big way to help the winless Stars post what should have been a winning total.
Inspired by Konstas’ incredible knock in Melbourne, Duckett smashed the Sixers to all parts of the ground, with the number one draft pick whacking six boundaries off one Akeal Hosein over to help the visitors score 57 in the power play.
It was a stunning display of power and placement as he slapped a couple of switch hits off the world’s number one ranked T20 bowler in one of the most brutal knocks of the season.
Duckett eventually fell for 68 off 29 having brought up his half-century off just 22 deliveries with the first of his two sixes.
“I’m guessing I haven’t done that before (hit six boundaries in an over), but I’m not too sure,” Duckett said on the Fox Cricket coverage after his whirlwind knock.
“It’s probably the most nervous I’ve come into a T20 with a golden duck in my first game for a new team.
“I’m just really happy that I could contribute today.
“We’ve just spoken about being fearless and trying to entertain, and that’s what the Melbourne Stars have done over the years. We don’t want to go down into our shells.”
The Stars looked like posting 220 with Glenn Maxwell at the crease, but the innings stalled when he fell on the final ball of the power surge for 32 to leave their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
IN TODD WE TRUST
Hosein may have been belted to all parts, but fellow spinner Todd Murphy was huge for the Sixers as he stemmed the runs with 2-26 from his four overs in front of 23,212 fans.
Quicks Jackson Bird and Ben Dwarshuis combined for five wickets, but it was Murphy who frustrated the visitors with a performance that will only help his chances of being picked in the Test squad for Sri Lanka.
‘NO NEED FOR IT’
The Melbourne Stars were off to the perfect start in their Boxing Day blockbuster against the Sydney Sixers – but a lack of “cricket smarts” saw the winless outfit stall.
Ben Duckett had blitzed the Sixers with an outstanding 68 off just 29 balls in an innings that included six fours in a single over at the SCG.
But with Maxwell and Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis freshly at the crease, Melbourne opted to take their powerplay from the 11th over – and it backfired.
Maxwell tried to send Ben Dwarshuis into the stands, and instead skied his pool shot and was caught by Todd Murphy for 32 off 17.
Retired Aussie star David Warner was critical of former teammate Maxwell’s dismissal.
“I just reckon with so many overs to go… if Maxy is on 60 or 70 and they’ve got three or four overs to go… I’m happy for him to keep going,” Warner said on Fox Cricket.
“But when they (Maxwell and Stoinis) are the two senior batters at the crease and they know they can get 15/16 (runs per over) at the back end, there’s no need for it.
“He will be angry with himself, that’s just the way that he plays.
““Sometimes some cricket smarts has to come into it.
“These two, they are the biggest hitters in world cricket. 360-degree players.
“Just a little bit of smarts sometimes.”
Fellow commentator Brendon Julian described Maxwell’s wicket as a turning point for the Stars.
“It could have been ugly – 210 or 215,” he said of the Sixers’ chase.
The Melbourne outfit would go on to lose 4/36 off 30 balls – despite looking on track to eclipse the 200 mark.
Stars all-rounder Hilton Cartwright admitted his side stalled late.
“We just lost a bit of momentum on the back end there,” he told Fox Cricket.
“You get the mental barrier of a 200-plus score.”
The Stars still managed to set the Sixers 195 for victory.
The match got underway at 6:05pm AEDT from the SCG.
TEAMS
Sydney Sixers: Moises Henriques (c), Jackson Bird, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Josh Philippe, Lachlan Shaw, Jordan Silk, James Vince (England)
In: Jackson Bird, Hayden Kerr
Out: Sean Abbott, Joel Davis
Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis (c), Hilton Cartwright, Ben Duckett (England), Tom Curran (England), Sam Harper, Glenn Maxwell, Jonathan Merlo, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Doug Warren
In: Usama Mir
Out: Beau Webster, Adam Milne
