The sun was shining at the Ted Summerton Reserve yesterday when the Hobart Hurricanes arrived with something to prove against the Melbourne Stars.
After the Hurricanes semi-final exit from BBL08 and the Stars narrowly missing out on the title, both sides were fired up and hungry for a first round win in BBL09.
The Ted Summerton Reserve was excellently prepared for the big game and the new Gippsland Regional Cricket Centre was a perfect addition to the facilities to host some of the best short game cricketers in the country.
The Stars welcomed back their illustrious captain Glenn Maxwell under the experienced guidance of new Coach, David Hussey and the Hurricanes showed off their notoriously big hitter D’Arcy Short and young gun Caleb Jewell as openers.
Latrobe City Council Mayor, Cr Dan Clancey said “It is exciting to see that Latrobe City is developing our name as a major events region”.
“We are extremely lucky to live in a regional city where our community members can see elite sports teams so close to home. We are building infrastructure across the city to be able to host these big, drawcard sporting matches”.
The Stars started the match strong by winning the toss and electing to bat. Marcus Stoinis went out hard and made 81* from 54 deliveries and Pakistan import Haris Rauf was remarkable for the Stars in his 4 overs of fast bowling, taking an impressive 5/27.
The Hurricanes missed having Matthew Wade and Tim Paine on field due to their national duties. D’Arcy Short didn’t make it to double figures after being caught off Maxwell’s bowling but Riley Meredith was notable with 3/27 from his 4 overs.
Over 6,500 fans enjoyed the fun, family environment with loads of entertainment for all ages throughout the afternoon.
Melbourne Stars 4/163 (20) def Hobart Hurricanes 111 (16)
