ESPNcricinfo Staff
Melbourne Stars have suffered a huge blow to their hopes of a comeback after a horror start to the BBL with Glenn Maxwell ruled out of their next match against Perth Scorchers through injury.
Maxwell injured his forearm while batting against the Brisbane Heat on the opening night of the competition, where he made 23 off 14 balls as the Stars were heavily beaten by 103 runs.
He had medical attention twice in the middle and had his forearm taped up and was then seen sticking it in the dugout after his dismissal at the Gabba. Maxwell’s absence will put more onus on Marcus Stoinis to lead the batting-up order, while it also means the Stars miss out on an important spin-bowling option.
The Stars face the Scorchers on Wednesday at the MCG and then have a 10-day gap until their next outing, against the Sydney Thunder in Albury on December 23, which the club hopes will give Maxwell time to recover and miss just one game.
“Biggest forearms in the world and he’s pulled a muscle,” joked teammate Hilton Cartwright after the game and before it was confirmed Maxwell would be banned.
“He had a nice break, came back very positive and is still extremely positive [after the loss]. On a night like tonight, you have to keep reminding yourself that you’re not a bad team.”
The Stars also look likely to be without Nathan Coulter-Nile after picking up a calf strain against the Heat. He came out to bat at No. 11 with a runner.
“Nathan Coulter-Nile will undergo scans this weekend to assess the damage to a calf injury sustained while bowling against the Brisbane Heat,” a club statement said.
The Stars will be hoping they can quickly call up Haris Rauf to Pakistan after he was not picked against the Heat once he arrived in the country. England fast bowler Olly Stone was one of his three overseas players along with Liam Dawson and Usama Mir.