Weltnachrichten – AU – Untimely injury costs stars in Big Bash thriller dearly

Stars trainer David Hussey explains the secret behind Nathan Coulter-Nile’s absence from the bowling fold in the crunch moment against the Sixers

A premature calf injury to the fast-paced Melbourne Stars’ Nathan Coulter-Nile proved a decisive factor in a dramatic end to an instant KFC BBL classic on the Gold Coast when Sixers captain Dan Hughes played the innings of his life for his To take the lead side to a record-breaking comeback win.

Set 194 to win at Metricon Stadium, the Sixers slumped to 2-5 in the second run and while never entirely out of the competition, the stars seemed to be sitting nicely after superstar couples Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran had taken them over at a daunting total of 5-193.

Later, with 39 runs required by the last 15 balls of the sixers innings, the match seemed almost over, but Hughes kept fighting even after losing hard-hitting partners Dan Christian, Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite path.

It was left to the left-handed – not known for his powerful heroics – to cross the line regularly, and when he left 4, 6, 6 to turn 18. To close, he had swung the competition back in favor of the Sixers.

That was until Stars quickly took two wickets from Liam Hatcher and only conceded three runs from the penultimate game end. That left the equation for a striking Hughes at 20 balls out of six with only two wickets.

When Hughes spoke to his new partner Steve O’Keefe in the middle of the pitch, it suddenly became clear that the final was not Coulter-Nile – who had 2-14 of three overs up to that point – but stars Captain Maxwell would be bowled.

« I didn’t know what happened to Nath, » said Hughes after the game. « He took off his hat to roll and Maxi said, ‘No, don’t worry. ‘.

Hughes immediately sent Maxwell’s first three balls over for 6, 4, 6 to leave the Sixers, who only take four runs out of the last three.

It was the next ball for an impressive 96 of 51 deliveries, trapped on the Midwicket line after landing just yards from winning maximum. In the end, there were four lucky leg byes that sealed the competition in favor of the Sixers. The Sydney team sat like in the BBL | 09 final against their rivals in Melbourne last summer.

It was then left to Stars trainer David Hussey to explain the secret behind Coulter-Nile’s absence from the bowling fold at the crunch moment.

« Nath did a calf strain, » Hussey explained. « He said he could try bowling and we encouraged him to do so because he’s a competitor and he wants to win, but Glenn (Maxwell) rightly said, ‘Buddy it’s a 2-3 week injury or if you’re doing more harm from bowling, it could be the rest of the season ‘.

« So Glenn was right to make that call and unfortunately Nath will now miss a few games. We have a day off tomorrow and we’ll see what the medical staff say.

« Hopefully he’s not lost (for the season) because everyone saw what they did tonight – he’s scorching hot. « 

Hussey admitted that if Coulter-Nile had been available instead of helplessly watching from the dugout, the result might have been in his team’s favor.

« Twenty to win – you’d like to believe that, » he said. « I think he’s one of the best T20 players in the world. Yes, you’d like to believe that, but the way Daniel Hughes struck her, anything could have happened. « 

Hughes was cool in a crisis and ran the site from the No.. 4 spot expertly in the absence of regular skipper and second drop of Moises Henriques. His seven sixes were the most he has produced in a T20 inning, and the 31-year-old later admitted that he surprised himself.

« We held (the required rate) for four or five overs between 12 and 13, » he said. « Jason (Holder) played wonderfully (18 of 11) and then Carlos (Brathwaite, 21 of 12) came in and he did the same . . . so the rate is never too far from us.

« We just said if we can get it deep into the final lap and see what happens there will be a 15-20 run there at some point.

« It was just very calm. Play it smart, run in pairs, and pick the right bowlers and we did really well. « .

« I played innings like this in an audition game (which led to BBL | 10), but until then I didn’t really know I had that in me.

« ‘DC (new Sixers teammate Dan Christian) and a few other guys just gave me the confidence to go outside in medium order and play my punches – just swing, be calm if you have to , and it came off today.

« Now that I know it’s there, it’s all about repeating it over and over so we’ll see how we go. « 

Big Bash League, Sydney Sixers, Melbourne Stars, Cricket, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Daniel Hughes, Twenty20, West Indies Cricket Team, Australian Men Cricket Team