‘Hit pretty hard’: Star triumphs despite battle
AUSTRALIAN star Glenn Maxwell admits he was “hit pretty hard” by Covid-19 and said he struggled in his matchwinning innings of 68 not out for the Melbourne Stars in their derby win over the Renegades on Thursday night.
Skipper Maxwell also said his players were “cooked” due to the nature of the season and were “holding on”.
He guided the Stars home after promoting himself to opener against the Renegades at Marvel Stadium.
He struck a six and a four off his first two balls and settled into his innings from there, ensuring the Stars ran home six-wicket winners with 33 balls remaining.
“I was hit pretty hard with it – I was pretty ill for a few days,” Maxwell said.
“It just takes you a while to get full fitness and even out there, I felt like with the heat and the humidity, I just felt like it affected you a lot more.”
The win lifted the Stars into fifth, meaning victory in their final two games almost certainly assures them of finals.
Maxwell was brutally honest about his side’s condition.
“The guys are cooked, there’s no secret,” he said.
“We’re all tired, we’re all holding on to get through. But at the same stage we’re really proud and we want to put our best foot forward, we want to perform well, we want to win games for the Stars.”
The team will benefit from the return of Marcus Stoinis and Nathan Coulter-Nile.
“We’re looking forward to having them at some stage,” Maxwell said.
“We know with their experience and quality, when they come back into the side it’s a really good-looking list. We’ve always said that from the start of the tournament but we probably haven’t put a fullstrength team out the whole tournament.”
After three games in 72 hours, the Stars enjoy one day off before they face the Strikers on Saturday morning.