Marcus Stoinis woes continue as Melbourne Stars savaged over 'awful' BBL loss

A disastrous start to the season for the Melbourne Stars has gone from bad to worse after a big defeat to the Perth Scorchers on Wednesday night that continued a wretched run of form for stand-in skipper Marcus Stoinis. The two-time defending Scorchers remain the benchmark in this season's BBL after completing a crushing seven-wicket victory over the Stars at the MCG.

Five-time BBL champions Perth extended their winning streak over the Stars to six matches after skittling the home side for 101 in 19.1 overs, before chasing down the paltry total with nearly six overs to spare. The Scorchers lost just three wickets on their way to a comfortable victory, despite Stephen Eskinazi top-scoring with just 25 runs.

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The Stars were dreadful with the bat, with three players out for ducks and Hilton Cartwright the top-scorer with just 24 runs. Stoinis - who was dropped during Australia's victorious ODI World Cup campaign - once again struggled with the bat after throwing his wicket away on 13 (off 20 balls), caught behind playing a rash shot off the bowling of Jason Behrendorff.

The home side were missing more than a touch of star power with superstar Glenn Maxwell out injured and veteran quick Nathan Coulter-Nile (calf) also sidelined. However, the Stars largely had themselves to blame after being bowled out for their third-lowest total in BBL history.

Melbourne's meagre 101-total came after they were dismissed for just 111 in their opening game of the season against the Brisbane Heat. It's a worrying reality for a Stars side that won just three of its 14 games last season to finish bottom of the BBL table.

Cricket world reacts to 'awful' Melbourne Stars display

Stoinis also struggled with the ball after being belted for 19 runs off his two overs and failing to take a wicket. It was the home side's batting that sparked the biggest backlash, however, with commentator Anthony Hudson describing the Stars' latest performance as “just disastrous” on Fox Cricket.

“It’s a big worry for the Big Bash and Cricket Australia really, because the Melbourne Stars are a big franchise, play at the MCG, haven’t won a title in their time and have just made a disastrous start to their season,” Hudson said. The Stars have now lost nine of their last 10 matches in the competition.

Stars once again falter with the bat

The obvious difference between the two sides at the MCG was the fortunes of the two top orders. Early run out chances went begging for Melbourne that could have at least built some pressure against Perth.

Cooper Connolly scored 20, fellow opener Eskinazi made 25 and No.3 Aaron Hardie contributed 20 to anchor Perth's innings. Josh Inglish (17no) and Ashton Turner (19no) closed out the match.

The brutal reality for the Stars was that they simply batted poorly on a wicket that had been under cover for much of the last 48 hours. No.8 Liam Dawson (22) and Haris Rauf (eight) showed up their teammates by putting on 21 for the last wicket, while Cartwright top-scored with 24 from 18 balls.

Perth left-arm spinner Hamish McKenzie was on a hat-trick in the 14th over when he dismissed Cartwright and Usama Mir for his first BBL wickets, but Joel Paris safely defended his first delivery. McKenzie impressed with a miserly 2-12 from his overs and was man of the match.

with AAP

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