Peter Moores sees no reason to second-guess Melbourne Stars’ tactics after a three-run loss to Hobart Hurricanes in Wednesday night’s rain-interrupted Big Bash League eliminator at Ninja Stadium.
A wet outfield reduced the match to ten overs a side, Hobart posting 114 for 5. Another shower after two overs of the reply trimmed the chase to 85 from seven; the Stars closed on 81 for 3, their season over.
Glenn Maxwell, batting at No.5, arrived with only 11 balls left. The skipper, short of form all tournament, faced four deliveries, finished nine not out and did not see a ball in the last over. Moores was unmoved.
“We sent out two lads who have played really well … to send them out for the two overs of powerplay made complete sense,” he explained. “Joe Clarke is an opener as well. We lost an early one in Tommy and [sent out] Joe and then obviously the rain came.
“Marcus [Stoinis] was next and Maxi [Maxwell] after that. You’re making decisions as the game evolves. I think we made the right calls.”
The coach’s bigger gripe was with the power-surge regulations. Hobart enjoyed a one-over surge during their innings, yet when DLS reshaped the Stars’ chase the surge vanished.
“It makes a difference in a short game,” Moores said, noting that English limited-overs competitions scale fielding restrictions according to overs remaining. “It seems to make sense. It’s quite simple to do.
“We’ve done that over in England for a bit. Maybe it’s something [to look at], but we play to the rules of each competition and we’ve got no complaints about it.”
Defeat ends a campaign that promised more. Victory over Perth Scorchers in the final round would have secured top spot and a second chance in the finals; instead, the Stars depart without the BBL title that continues to elude them.
“We’ll look back on a tournament where a lot of people played well. The frustration is that I think we were playing well enough to win it,” Moores reflected. “If it didn’t hurt you, you wouldn’t be human in some way. We’ll take it on the chin and we’ll move on.”
Hobart progress to a knock-out against Brisbane Heat. For the Stars it is time, once again, to pack away the green kit and ponder what might have been.
