Melbourne Stars captain Glenn Maxwell says defeat to Sydney Sixers hurts even more than last summer's shock collapse as they fall short in successive BBL Finals
Stars failure at the finals hurdle leaves Maxwell shattered
Glenn Maxwell was shattered after the Melbourne Stars' capitulation in last year's KFC BBL final, but the captain admits Saturday's SCG surrender was even harder to take.
The Stars' 19-run loss to the Sydney Sixers means they have now won just three of 12 games in BBL playoffs, with Test skipper Tim Paine saying on the Seven Network that "it is certainly mental ...they have fallen over within finals cricket".
In the BBL|08 final last summer, Maxwell was part of an unbelievable collapse of 7-19 that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as a maiden title beckoned in a Melbourne-derby final.
In this season's decider, Maxwell departed for five as his team crashed to 4-25 in pursuit of 117 from 12 overs.
The captain denied the Stars folded under pressure in Sydney, where they enhanced their reputation for regular-season dominance and finals failure.
☝️SOK!!!! 🙌🙌 Glenn Maxwell LBW for 5 #BBL09Final It is 3⃣/18 in the 3rd over.#smashemsixers pic.twitter.com/Evp5sjsERr%E2%80%94 Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) February 8, 2020
"It (a rain-shortened game featuring 12-over innings) is a bit of a lottery. I thought we bowled OK, we still gave them about 15 or 20 too many," Maxwell said.
"Losing three wickets in the first three overs probably hurts you. Stoin (Marcus Stoinis) picked out the one bloke on the fence and I got the one ball that Steve O'Keefe spins all tournament. It happens."
Four, six and OUT! The decision to open the bowling with Nathan Lyon pays off and Marcus Stoinis is on his way! LIVE: https://t.co/xYKNMsPDqG #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/RxgiISvgc6%E2%80%94 cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 8, 2020
Saturday proved an emotional rollercoaster for Maxwell, who woke with doubts as to whether any sort of match would be possible because of heavy rain.
Maxwell won the bat flip, snared the key scalp of Steve Smith in a haul of 2-17 then watched the wheels fall off in half an hour after a season spanning almost two months.
OUT! Maxwell again! The skipper leading the way for the Stars. Sixers 4-73 with four overs to go LIVE: https://t.co/xYKNMsPDqG #BBL09 pic.twitter.com/RL3ntZbvKz%E2%80%94 cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 8, 2020
Maxwell, who departs for Australia's limited-overs tour of South Africa later this week, suggested "it certainly does" hurt more than the 2018-19 fiasco.
"Last year was pretty tough to take but the fact we had such a dominant season, we played so well throughout the whole of this tournament," Maxwell said.
"We were able to play a lot of our list and get some game time into different people. It was just such a successful season, to see different guys stand up at different times.
"We never felt out of it. Even when it was 20 an over, we still thought 'we still back these guys to get this'. It's hard."
Melbourne Stars' Big Bash record
BBL|01: lost semi-final
BBL|02: lost semi-final
BBL|03: lost semi-final
BBL|04: lost semi-final
BBL|05: lost final
BBL|06: lost semi-final
BBL|07: wooden spoon
BBL|08: lost final
BBL|09: lost final