Duckett’s 67 helps Stars to victory over Renegades

Big Bash League

Melbourne Renegades 168-7 (20 overs): Bethell 49 (36), Wells 45 (31)

Melbourne Stars 171-5 (19.4 overs): Duckett 67 (49), Stoinis 48 (35), Sandhu 3-29

Stars won by five wickets

A fine 67 from England’s Ben Duckett helped Melbourne Stars to a five-wicket win over local Big Bash League rivals Melbourne Renegades.

The Renegades posted 168-7 with the top score from Duckett’s international team-mate Jacob Bethell, who then took two excellent catches to dismiss Marcus Stoinis and Duckett late in the Stars’ run chase.

With only two deliveries left, the Stars were delivered home by Glenn Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright, who had to deal with Duckett and Stoinis’ absence.

In his innings at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Bethell, who recently played three Test matches for England and made three fifty-two runs in his first three starts there, struck two sixes and four fours.

However, Duckett and Stoinis accelerated as a partnership of 81 until Duckett holed out to Bethell on the leg side after hitting four fours and three sixes when fellow England batter Dan Lawrence was dismissed, which led to the Stars going 41-3 with 5.2 overs.

Three deliveries later, Bethell and Cartwright led the Stars to only their second win of the season when Cartwright hit Tom Rogers for a six and a four in the final over.