ESPNcricinfo staff
Melbourne Stars have suffered a major blow to their hopes of bouncing back from a dreadful start to the BBL as Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of their next game against the Perth Scorchers due to injury.
Maxwell injured his forearm while batting against the Brisbane Heat on the opening night of the tournament, where he scored 23 off 14 balls as the Stars were beaten by 103 runs.
He received medical attention twice in the middle and had his forearm taped, then was seen icing it in the dugout after his dismissal at Kappa. Maxwell’s absence will put more onus on Marcus Stoinis to lead the batting line-up, while Stars will lose an important spin-bowling option.
The Stars face the Scorchers at the MCG on Wednesday and then have a 10-day break until their next game 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 pulled a muscle,” joked teammate Hilton Cartwright after the game and before confirming Maxwell would be sent off.
„He had a good break, came back super positive and he’s still super positive [after the loss]. On a night like tonight, you have to keep reminding yourself that you’re not a bad team.”
Nathan Coulter-Nile could be without the Stars after picking up a calf against the Heat. He came out to bat in the 11th with one runner on.
„Nathan Coulter-Nile will undergo a scan this weekend to assess the damage to the injury sustained while bowling against the Brisbane Heat,” a club statement said.
Stars are hoping that Haris Rauf, who was not picked against the Heat, can call up Pakistan soon. England pacer Ollie Stone is one of their three overseas players along with Liam Dawson and Usama Mir.