It was after Kerr shone with a couple of wickets, meaning Webster’s all-round efforts were in vain
Tristan Lavalette26-Dec-2022Sydney Sixers 151 for 3 (Henriques 52*, Zampa 1-21) beat Melbourne Stars 150 for 5 (Webster 78, Kerr 2-26) by seven wicketsSkipper Moises Henriques emerged from a form slump as Sydney Sixers continued their stranglehold over Melbourne Stars with a seven-wicket win at the SCG.On a surface with inconsistent bounce and pace, Sixers’ chase of 151 was not easy but Henriques wound back the clock to steer the home side to victory with five balls to spare.It was their eighth straight win over Stars, who have slumped to a 1-3 record this season.Henriques returns to form
Sixers’ slow start to the season has been mostly due to their misfiring batting order. Kurtis Patterson and James Vince were keen to make amends with promising starts but they fell in quick succession to leave Sixers shakily placed at 3 for 63 at the midway point.For years, Henriques has been a fulcrum for powerhouse Sixers but he entered the match with consecutive golden ducks. In a relief, he scored off his first delivery as his trademark composure returned to anchor Sixers’ chase.There were periods where he was shackled, especially by legspinner Adam Zampa, but Henriques kept his cool alongside Jordan Silk, who had also made a duck in the last match against Hobart Hurricanes.Henriques accelerated in the back end and notched his half-century with a six in the penultimate over to effectively ice the game. It was the first half-century this season by a Sixers batter.Stars rue sloppy fielding
There was a lot of intrigue over how Stars’ attack would respond after conceding the third-highest BBL total in their big defeat against Perth Scorchers.Coach David Hussey was scathing of his team’s attitude and with his criticisms ringing in their ears, Stars’ attack produced a much better effort but it wasn’t enough. The bowlers weren’t helped by sloppy fielding and will particularly rue a missed slumping by Joe Clarke off Zampa to reprieve Henriques in the 15th over.Zampa and seamer Luke Wood tried their best with miserly bowling but lacked support in a Stars attack without quick Nathan Coulter-Nile.O’Keefe battles through hamstring injury
Left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe’s penchant for the SCG continued after playing a key role in Sixers’ tight win over Hurricanes last week to break their duck this season. Against Stars, the 38-year-old showed why he’s relied upon to open the bowling with the wicket of Tom Rogers second ball.But disaster struck when O’Keefe later in the over clutched at his right hamstring and had to go off the field for treatment. He made a quick return but was clearly hampered, trudging around in the field.Beau Webster picked up a wicket after his BBL-best effort with the bat•Getty Images
Fortunately, the discomfort didn’t affect his bowling with O’Keefe returning into the attack in the sixth over and continued his nagging length to frustrate big-hitters Clarke and Beau Webster, who could only muster four singles off the over. Quite clearly needing more medical attention, O’Keefe had to get through his remaining overs quickly and he didn’t disappoint to finish with 1 for 16 off four overs.O’Keefe mustered all his experience to bowl accurately amid obvious pain and he clearly remains a pivotal part of Sixers’ attack. They will sweat over the severity of his hamstring injury.Webster anchors shorthanded StarsStars suffered a major blow with Marcus Stoinis rested for the clash to further weaken a batting order already without Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns to long-term injuriesAfter being sent in, Stars were in big trouble at 2 for 8 and they needed Clarke to fire with the ‘keeper-batter the only player to have hit a century this season.He looked the goods when he smashed wayward seamer Sean Abbott for two sixes in the third over before falling for 27.It was left to Webster, who had threatened this season for a big score without capitalising. On this occasion, he was up to the task with a mature knock to dig Stars out of trouble.Webster initially mostly played along the ground before launching a huge six over square leg off seamer Hayden Kerr to hit the roof.With his confidence rising, Webster made his move in the 17th and 18th overs as Stars scored 24 runs during the power surge.In his 47th BBL innings, Webster went past 1000 career runs and along the way notched his career best score of 78 off 51 balls to power Stars to a competitive total but it ultimately wasn’t enough.
