Allrounder tapped his thumb while batting late in the Stars’ win over the Strikers.
Melbourne Stars captain Marcus Stoinis is confident he will be given the all-clear following an injury ahead of the BBL finals and T20 World Cup.
The 36-year-old all-rounder was hit on the right thumb by a rising delivery from Adelaide Strikers bowler Jamie Overton during the Stars’ six-wicket win on Tuesday night.
He retired injured as a precaution, with the Stars firmly in control and needing just two more runs to win at that point.
But the injury has caused concern, with the Stars chasing a long-awaited BBL title and some of Stoinis’ Australian teammates already under clouds ahead of the World Cup.
Pat Cummins (back), Josh Hazlewood (calf and Achilles) and Tim David (hamstring) are racing against the clock to be fit for the global showpiece, which starts on February 7.
“I think I’ll probably get a scan, but I think it’s fine,” Stoinis said while icing his thumb after the Stars’ win.
“At first you don’t feel anything and after about 10 seconds you feel something, and it’s probably not worth the risk at that stage of the game.”
Stoinis said Strikers players Chris Lynn and Matt Short “talked some sense into me” and suggested he retire injured, with the outcome now beyond doubt.
“In the end it was the right decision,” he said.
Stoinis broke fingers while batting in the past and said the latest setback had caused him some nerves.
“It was nothing at first and after about 10 seconds your hand starts to shake a little bit and you’re a little nervous,” Stoinis said.
“I think it’s okay, but I guess it’s not worth pushing it.”
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Stoinis’ injury occurred on a difficult wicket, in which Adelaide lost 83 after being sent to bat first.
It was the second-lowest total in Strikers’ history and the third-lowest of any BBL team at the MCG, yet the Stars needed 15.1 overs to reach the meager target of victory.
Stoinis was hesitant to discuss the surface, following last month’s controversy surrounding the Boxing Day testing ground at the same location.
The Ashes contest lasted two days, cost Cricket Australia millions in revenue and sparked criticism of chief curator Matt Page.
“I’m always nervous about what they say these days about that kind of stuff, but I’m sure you guys could see it was a tough surface,” Stoinis said of the BBL strip.
“It’s tough for T20 cricket. Without getting into trouble, I would love to have these conversations and hopefully play on good wickets.
“It was the same ground (as the previous game), but they just removed some grass.
“We had a conversation after the last game and we wanted a better surface.
“I think that’s what they tried to do. Obviously it’s difficult and they’re doing the best they can, but it’s not ideal for us.
“It went up, down and bit.”
The Stars’ victory over Adelaide guaranteed their place in the BBL final and they could secure a top-two spot in their final regular season game, against fellow contenders Perth on Saturday.
KFC Rating BBL|15
| Equipment |
Games played METRO |
win W. |
Losses l |
Ties t |
No results N/R |
Net run rate NRR |
Deductions Death. |
Total points PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 OCS |
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1,363 | 0 | 14 |
|
2 HUR |
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 13 |
|
3 S.T.A. |
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.759 | 0 | 12 |
|
4 SIX |
9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.566 | 0 | 11 |
|
5 H.E.A. |
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.375 | 0 | 10 |
|
6 WAS |
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.231 | 0 | 8 |
|
7 ren |
10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1,202 | 0 | 6 |
|
8 THU |
10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | -1,212 | 0 | 4 |
Legend
METRO: Games played
W: win
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net run rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
