Perth Scorchers 150 for 4 (Connolly 64, Turner 37*, Curran 1-25) beat Melbourne Stars 146 for 9 (Curran 37, Stoinis 37, Richardson 3-19, Morris 2-30) by six wickets
Cartwright, a Western Australian cricketer, had the support of a neck brace as he left the ground to warm applause from the fans before being taken to hospital.
It was the seventh straight win for Scorchers over Stars much to the delight of the 30,649 crowd – a record for a BBL season-opener.
Connolly and Turner lift weakened Scorchers batting
Stars’ score of 146 for 9 appeared under par, but there were concerns over a weakened Scorchers’ batting line-up missing injured No.3 Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis, who is part of Australia’s Test squad.
Expectations were high over New Zealand opener Finn Allen, who had tuned up for his Scorchers debut with a succession of massive hits during an intra-squad match at the WACA.
Allen didn’t bother with a sighter as he launched compatriot Adam Milne for a massive six over wide long-on to trigger bedlam among the orange-garbed fans in the terraces.
But he was bowled by Milne on the next delivery before Scorchers slumped further when English batters top-order Keaton Jennings and Matt Hurst struggled to handle the extra bounce.
In familair scenes, Turner came to the crease and brought calmness to the middle. He started slowly in trademark style as Connolly did the bulk of the damage.
Connolly has said his preference is to bat at No.6 but his flexibility came to the fore as he reached his maiden BBL half-century. He was not able to stay there at the end, like he memorably did in the final of BBL 12. He fell after when Scorchers took the power surge in the 14th over but Turner, who has missed much of the domestic season with injuries, finished the job with an unbeaten 37 as Scorchers reached the target in the 18th over.
Same ol’ Scorchers attack
New season, same old menacing Scorchers attack. It was like a collection of greatest hits for this reliable group of bowlers.
Left-arm quick Jason Behrendorff has for years been a devastating weapon with the new ball and this was no exception. He didn’t take wickets in his opening two-over spell, but indirectly helped account for the early dismissals of Joe Clarke and Sam Harper.
Richardson capped his fine performance with the wicket of Beau Webster, who had been released from Australia’s Test squad, in the 17th over.
It was a well-rounded effort from a full-strength Scorchers attack with speedster Lance Morris bowling at speeds touching 145 kmh, while left-arm spinners Ashton Agar and Connolly each took a wicket in their returns from injuries.
Stoinis starts captaincy reign well before run-out
Stoinis came to the crease under pressure but he’s well used to these fast and bouncy conditions having come up through the Western Australian cricket ranks.
And he met fire with fire, taking a liking to Morris’ extra pace before smashing Agar for a huge six down the ground. In the process he became the sixth batter in BBL history to reach 100 sixes.
With batting conditions becoming easier, Stoinis attempted to bludgeon every delivery like when he launched into a full-pitched Richardson delivery only to break his bat in half.
But two deliveries later Stoinis took off for a quick single only for Tye at mid-on to produce a spectacular direct hit to throw down the stumps at the bowler’s end. Stoinis instantly knew his fate and was clearly livid as he threw his head back and chucked his bat in the air.
Stoinis trudged off after making 37 off 33 balls but Tom Curran, recruited from Sydney Sixers, gave them a lift in the backend with 37 off 19 balls. But it wasn’t enough as their shorthanded attack missing Scott Boland could not defend the sub-par total.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
