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Five takes from Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat

Chris Lynn of the Heat raises his bat after defeating the Hobart Hurricanes during the Big Bash League match between the Brisbane Heat and the Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba in Brisbane, Friday, Dec. 30, 2016. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Roar Guru
2nd January, 2018
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The Brisbane Heat belted the winless Melbourne Stars by nine wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to grab their third win of the season. Here are five talking points from the clash.

1. Heat annihilate Stars
The ‘bash brothers’ – Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn – made light work of the target, both scoring half-centuries, as the Heat made the 142 required in just the 14th over.

McCullum scored 61 from just 30 balls, while Lynn remained unbeaten on 63 as the new opening pair easily chased down a paltry total from the Stars.

For the Stars, only Glenn Maxwell with 50 managed any real resistance as their big name batting line-up failed to fire once again. Mitchell Swepson was outstanding, claiming 3/14 from his four overs with Melbourne dropping to 0-3.

2. Swepson puts his name up in lights
The Heat’s leg spinners, Mitchell Swepson and Yasir Shah, put on a masterclass of slow bowling last night as they totally dominated.

Swepson put himself firmly in the frame for an Australian T20 position with 3 for 14 from his four overs, claiming the key wickets of openers Ben Dunk and Luke Wright as well as catching Rob Quiney from his own bowling.

The leg-spinner bowled intelligently by aiming at leg stump and not bowling too full with the shorter straight boundaries. With Australia’s spinning ranks well and truly open, it was a great time to put in an eye-catching performance.

3. Heat make a change at the top
The Heat are so explosive they can be all or nothing as a team. We have already seen them suffer two heavy defeats, but also blow their opposition away as they did last night.

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It was a great move from Brendon McCullum to partner himself with Chris Lynn at the top of the order. In a T20 game you want your best players facing as many balls as possible and Lynn looked right at home opening the innings, with their next best batsman Joe Burns coming in at three.

Jimmy Peirson has done a reasonable job over the years, however, he isn’t in the same class as McCullum, Lynn and Burns.

Chris Lynn of the Heat raises his bat

(AAP Image/Dan Peled)

4. Stars looking listless
The Stars have lost their last six matches as a franchise if you include their final three games of BBL06. This was another limp performance from arguably the best line-up in the competition, who are simply not firing.

The Stars have a big name batting line-up, however, most of them appear to be playing quite tentatively and without the confidence we are used to seeing.

Sometimes when your team is struggling, rather than go into your shell and try and construct an innings, it’s best to try and play as loosely and freely as possible – which is somethig coach Steven Fleming hinted at in a post-match interview.

With the ten-game format this year, the Stars are not quite dead in the water. However they desperately need a win in their next game.

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5. Stars need a change at the top
The Stars should be thinking of a similar shake-up at the top of their order. Last year Rob Quiney was one of the players of BBL06, however, he has been shifted all the way down to No.6 with the arrival of Ben Dunk in the off-season.

Dunk looks out of sorts and is yet to reach double figures through three games, while fellow opener Luke Wright continues to struggle.

Quiney played reasonably freely last year, with the ability to clear the leg side field at will and the Stars need someone who can come in and play confidently, without much to lose to turn around the fortunes of this team.

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