Superstar allrounder ruled out of Melbourne Stars' next match after injuring forearm while batting against the Heat
Maxwell ruled out of Stars' clash with reigning champs
Melbourne Stars' rocky start to KFC BBL|13 has got even worse, with superstar allrounder Glenn Maxwell ruled out their clash with Perth Scorchers at the MCG next Wednesday.
Maxwell injured his forearm muscle while batting in the Stars’ loss to the Brisbane Heat in the season opener at the Gabba last night.
While the Stars captain batted on after receiving treatment, taking Spencer Johnson for 20 off his first over, he fell shortly after for 23 off 13 balls before his side was rolled for 111 to sink to a 103-run defeat.
The 34-year-old was spotted icing his forearm in the dugout after his dismissal, with the club confirming on Friday afternoon he would miss their first home game for the season in five days' time.
Maxwell looked to have lost none of his form from Australia's 50-over World Cup campaign and subsequent T20 series against India as he raced to 22 off 11.
This included three fours and a six over square leg despite hurting his forearm on the fourth delivery he faced when he inside edged a delivery from Johnson out to deep square leg.
However he then picked out Matt Kuhnemann in the deep with a sweetly timed switch-hit off Mitch Swepson as the Stars lost 8-62 following his departure.
It's a further blow for the Stars in their quest to rebound from a bottom-of-the-table finish last season, with every game crucial in BBL|13 due to the reduced 10-game home-and-away schedule.
In the Stars' favour, however, is they only play three matches in the opening 16 days of the tournament, meaning there is 10 days between their second match against the Scorchers and their third against Sydney Thunder in Albury on December 23.
"Hopefully it's nothing major but we won't know until it settles down," Stars head coach Peter Moores said during their loss to the Heat.
"We've got quite a slow intro to the tournament – we don't play until December 13 and 23, so we have got some time on our hands."
Nathan Coulter-Nile will undergo scans this weekend to determine damage to a calf injury suffered while bowling against the Heat.
Coulter-Nile left the ground immediately after bowling the 19th over of the Heat innings and then used a runner when he came out to bat at No.11.
The club is expected to provide a further injury update ahead of the Scorchers clash.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
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