Jhye Richardson snared 3-19 as the Stars spluttered their way to 9-146 from their allotted overs in Sunday night's BBL season opener in Perth.
In reply, the Scorchers reached the victory target with 17 balls to spare thanks largely to a career-best knock from Cooper Connolly (64 off 51 balls) and a cool head from captain Ashton Turner (37no off 27 balls).
C O O P E R 🔥— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) That is pure! #BBL14 pic.twitter.com/RSSDWrPArzDecember 15, 2024
Nick Hobson (27no off 14 balls) joined the fun once Connolly was dismissed.
There was injury drama during the Scorchers' chase when Cartwright had to be stretchered off the ground on a medi-cab following a fielding mishap.
Cartwright's neck snapped back painfully after he dived at full pace in an attempt to save a boundary.Â
The 32-year-old lay motionless on the turf after sliding to a stop, and medical staff carefully assessed him for almost five minutes before loading him onto the medi-cab.
Cartwright was taken to hospital for further assessment.
Thoughts are with Hilton Cartwright who has been helped off the field after suffering an injury while attempting to save a boundary. � — KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) #BBL14 pic.twitter.com/WGZ787X4PlDecember 15, 2024
The 30,469 crowd was a record attendance for a BBL season opener, eclipsing the 27,676 of BBL04.
Scorchers pace duo Richardson (3-19) and Jason Behrendorff (1-19) were near unplayable early as the Stars made a snail-paced start to the game.Â
The Stars were 2-3 from 3.2 overs after Joe Clarke (0 off 9 balls) and Sam Harper (1) fell to a rampant Richardson.Â
Behrendorff helped set up the scalps by returning figures of 0-2 across his first two overs, and the Stars' score of 2-13 after the four-over powerplay left them with a mountain to climb.
Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis (37 off 33 balls) had the scoreboard ticking over before he ran himself out through a direct hit from AJ Tye.
England allrounder Tom Curran (37 off 19) took 22 runs from one Tye over to put the Stars on track for a score in excess of 160.Â
But with wickets falling at regular intervals, the visitors' momentum stalled, with Lance Morris (2-30) snaring the scalps of Curran and Adam Milne in the 19th over to prevent any late fireworks.Â
New Scorchers import Finn Allen ensured the run chase started with a bang, thumping fellow Kiwi Milne for a huge six first ball before being clean bowled on the next delivery.
Evergreen Peter Siddle snared his 100th BBL wicket when the 40-year-old sent Keaton Jennings packing, and it was 3-37 when Englishman Matty Hurst was caught.
Connolly struggled early in his innings but soon warmed to the task and combined with Ashton Turner for a 68-run stand that turned the momentum Perth's way.
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