Glenn Maxwell can't save Stars as Melbourne teams sink to embarrassing low in BBL

Not even the return of Glenn Maxwell could stop an embarrassing slide for the Melbourne teams in the BBL, with the Stars and Renegades falling to the bottom of the ladder on Saturday. The Stars went down to Sydney Thunder by five wickets in Albury, before the Renegades lost to the Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets.

The Thunder and Hurricanes both grabbed their first wins of the season as a result, leaving the Stars and Renegades as the only teams yet to win a game. The Renegades are second-last in seventh spot with three losses from four games - with the other game called off and declared a 'no result' because of a dangerous pitch in Geelong.

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They received one point for that scuppered match, which is one more than the Stars have. Maxwell's side are dead-last in eighth place at 0-3 with a horrendous net-run rate of -3.031.

Maxwell returned from a one-game absence due to a forearm strain on Saturday, but couldn't help his side avoid another loss. The skipper struggled to really get going and was eventually dismissed for 30 off 26 balls.

Beau Webster (59 off 44) was the only Stars player to build on a promising start, with Tom Rogers (21 off 16) and Hilton Cartwright (22 off 11) getting out despite looking dangerous early. Webster also took 4-29 with the ball, becoming the first player in BBL history to score a half-century and take four wickets in the same game.

But his heroics went for naught, with Daniel Sams (22 not out off 13) and Nathan McAndrew (13 not out of five) getting the Thunder home with 10 deliveries remaining. Cameron Bancroft (30 off 20) and Alex Hales (40 of 26) got the Sydney side off to the perfect start and they never looked back.

Matthew Wade stars as Hurricanes add to Renegades' woes

As for the Renegades, they fell victim to a masterful knock from Matthew Wade. The Hurricanes veteran blasted 82 off 50 balls as Hobart got home with six balls remaining.

Star imports Quinton de Kock (38 from 22) and Joe Clarke (38 from 25) got the Renegades off to a quick start after they were sent in to bat. The Renegades were flying at 0-78 in the eighth over, before they lost three wickets in four deliveries.

Paddy Dooley (2-32) got rid of de Kock and Jake Fraser-McGurk for a first-ball duck in consecutive deliveries, before Nathan Ellis clean-bowled Clarke on the first ball of the next over. "(The wickets) held us back a bit from trying to play our natural game and being aggressive. It hampered us," Clarke said.

Jono Wells made 40 not out from 24 ball and Aaron Finch added 31 from 28, but it wasn't enough. Finch wasn't able to field for the Renegades because of back soreness, and watched on from the sidelines as Wade went about his work.

The wicket-keeper shared a 140-run partnership with Mac Wright, who played more of a support role early but finished with five sixes and five fours in his 36-ball 63. Wade whacked nine fours and three sixes in his innings, which set up the win despite being caught in the deep in the 17th over.

Fans were highly critical of the Stars and Renegades' start to the season on social media, labelling the performances so far as "embarrassing" and "pathetic". The Stars will be looking to get their first win of the season when they face the Sydney Sixers on Boxing Day, while the Renegades face the back-to-back defending champion Perth Scorchers later on the same night.

with AAP

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