Stoinis blitz sets new Big Bash benchmark

As Marcus Stoinis hit sixes at will and brought the Melbourne Stars from down-and-out to within shouting distance of a BBL win at the Gabba on Wednesday night, it was hard not to think back to January 30.

It is almost 11 months since Stoinis smashed a ridiculous 146 against the Black Caps in Auckland, all but getting Australia over the line in what would have been one of the most remarkable turnarounds in ODI history.

On that day, the Aussies were 6-67 chasing 287. Then they were 8-196. And 9-226. But Stoinis kept hitting maximums. Eleven of them in total. The powerful right-hander bringing down the runs required in healthy chunks as Australia's tail looked on from the non-striker's end in something approaching awe.

Ultimately they fell short by seven runs. Stoinis, in his second ODI, drew universal – if surprised – praise.

"I don't think anyone expected him to play like Superman," said New Zealand coach Mike Hesson, which neatly summed up the pervading mood.

Last night, it happened again. Stoinis lived out his Groundhog Day in making a stunning 99 from 51 balls, taking the Stars from 3-38, then 4-53, to within a few more lusty blows of a virtually unthinkable triumph.

Was he thinking back to Auckland, when he made it rain white cricket balls for a memorable couple of hours?

Not at all. That's not how it works, apparently.

"You're too in the moment," he explained to cricket.com.au. "I was just trying to win the game."

What he did take from his Superman act was confidence. And belief.

"Definitely – I mean I believed it, but until you do it, it's a different thing. So that was very important, to go out there and do it on the international stage.

"And this is almost just as satisfying to do it in front of Australia, in Australia."

As is often the case, the numbers don't do the performance justice. The scorecard shows the Stars fell 15 runs short of the Brisbane Heat's 7-206, but what it can never convey is the effect Stoinis had on a previously buoyant crowd of 27,433 at the Gabba cauldron.

Little by little, then big by big, the 28-year-old began a recovery with clean, technically correct stroke-play. He targeted the short midwicket boundary at times, and went straight with power and precision. Roughly every fourth ball he hit went to or beyond the rope. And with each shot, Brisbane's supporters shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

The scale of the performance is underlined by the fact it generated the single best all-round performance in the brief history of the BBL player ratings, compiled by Professor Steven Stern.

Stoinis rated a whopping +33.5 for the match, and for those savy enough to have him in their BBL Fantasy team, he earned a massive 198 points.

That allrounder rating easily eclipsed the +27.5 Dwayne Bravo recorded for the Melbourne Renegades in BBL|05. Professor Stern noted in the previous 70 matches of Big Bash competition, the average rating for an allrounder making a positive contribution was +8.5 putting the Stoinis performance more than four standard deviations above the average. 

For a period, the contest came alive as the Stars' dashing allrounder (he also took three wickets, as he did for Australia in Auckland) again made the impossible seem possible.

Until, well, it didn't happen. Again.

Marcus Stoinis, Australia and Melbourne's Patron Saint of Lost Causes.

"I think that needs to change," he said of what is becoming a penchant for powerhouse performances in nail-biting defeats.

"(I was) happy with how I hit them but there's a few things we need to work on. But there's positives still to take, it's only just the start.

"It's been a good year. It's been something I've been wanting to do for a while, both in Big Bash and international cricket, so I've taken a few steps forward."

Off the field, 2017 has presented its challenges for Stoinis, who tragically lost his father, Chris, to cancer last month, though not before Marcus moved back to Perth to spend some priceless time by his side.

As he walked off following his player-of-the-match performance in Brisbane, beaten though not completely defeated, he looked to the heavens.

"It's all going to be (for his father)," he said. "I miss him every day, I can't help but think about him every day.

"He's watching, I'm sure."

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