(CMC) – West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell starred with the ball but flopped with the bat as Melbourne Stars lost their second on the trot with a 24-run defeat to Hobart Hurricanes in the Australia Big Bash yesterday.
Choosing to bat first, Hurricanes romped to 180 for six with opener Ben McDermott top-scoring with 67 off 43 balls, and medium Russell snatching three for 48 from four overs.
The hosts then limited Stars to 156 for nine off their 20 overs despite Joe Clarke’s 52, with Russell managing only 12.
With the defeat – their third in five outings – Stars are now one from bottom of the eight-team standings on seven points while Hurricanes now lie third on ten points, seven adrift of leaders Perth Stars.
Playing at Bellerive Oval, McDermott provided the hosts with an ideal start, lashing four fours and four sixes as he put on 93 for the first wicket with Matthew Wade (39) and a further 22 for the second wicket with D’Arcy Short (26).
When he was second out in the 14th over, miscuing to the deep off Russell, Short combined with Peter Handscomb (12) in a 35-run, third wicket partnership to keep the innings going.
Russell made the breakthrough yet again, getting Short to sky to cover in the 17th over before claiming his third wicket when he bowled Harry Brook around his legs with leg stump full toss in the penultimate over.
In reply, Clarke put on 37 for the first wicket with Marcus Stoinis (18) and 55 for the third with Joe Burns (22) before perishing at the end of the 13th over, after counting two fours and three sixes.
Russell tried to revive the run chase by smashing two fours in a 27-run fifth wicket partnership with Hilton Cartwright (26) but once the right-hander holed out to mid-wicket off seamer Nathan Ellis (2-27), the innings fizzled out.
New ball pacers Tom Rogers (3-29) and Riley Meredith (3-32) finished with three wickets apiece.
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