"Live Halftime Recap - Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers @ MCG

Melbourne Stars v Adelaide Strikers 8/152 (20 Overs) 

Boland Rips Through The Strikers to Put The Stars on Top

Scott Boland continued his excellent BBL6 form by claiming 4 big wickets, to put the brakes on a strong start by the Adelaide Strikers. Boland finished with figures of 4/30 from his 4 overs. Boland hit the pitch hard and was rewarded by picking up both Brad Hodge and Tim Ludeman when they looked well set in their 20's, before dismissing the dangerous Jono Dean in his final over. The Strikers' batting has been spasmodic at best throughout BBL6 and, once again, they were uninspiring here after a solid  start. Kevin Pietersen said it best when he commentated live from the field that the Strikers lacked intensity with the bat through the middle overs. To go over 50 balls without a boundary after the Power Play is criminal really. The Strikers' innings drifted along aimlessly for too many overs, as has been the case in some of their previous games. The Stars' bowlers execution and discipline was outstanding after a dusty first few overs. 

Bowe Impresses On Debut

Young left arm wrist spinner Liam Bowe held his nerve on debut on the big stage to claim the impressive figures of 1/21 from his 3 overs. Bowe has performed outstandingly for Essendon in Grade Cricket this season, however it would have been a nerve jangling debut in front of over 40,000 fans at the MCG alongside some of the superstars of the game in Kevin Pietersen, David Hussey, Peter Handscomb and Luke Wright. Usually young wrist spinners will bowl a few drag down balls or full tosses when they are nervous. However, Bowe hit a pretty consistent full length throughout, despite the Strikers trying desperately to rattle him with a few lusty blows.  Bowe has a relatively low arm action, however varied his pace well and pushed the ball through quickly at times, making him difficult to get under. 

Strikers Lose Momentum After The Power Play

Once again, Ben Dunk got the Strikers off to a decent start in the batting Power Play in this game against the Stars. At 1/51 from 6 overs, the platform was laid for a score of 170+. As identified by Ricky Ponting in the commentary, the Strikers have really struggled between the 7th and 10th over, as they lost all momentum after a fast start. Between these overs, the Strikers managed just 1/25 without a boundary. When you have 8 wickets in the shed, I think most strong teams have one batsman who is prepared to chance his arm and try and hit as many boundaries as possible, as early as possible. Whilst Hodge and Ludeman put on a decent partnership, they didn't hit a boundary for 5 overs which stalled momentum. Given the Strikers' struggles in their middle order, perhaps Hodge didn't have a whole lot of faith in the likes of Pollard and Dean. Whatever the case, the Strikers are not looking like a batting outfit to fear at the moment.

Stoinis Given Added Responsibility

Marcus Stoinis has been reduced to the role of bit part player for the Melbourne Stars this season. However, he was called upon for 4 overs tonight in the absence of some of his big name team mates. With James Faulkner absent,  I thought he bowled pretty smartly, using the wickets and varying his pace. It would have been made clear to Stoinis that they need more quality overs from him, and some contributions with the bat. Stoinis has fallen a bit off the radar since debuting for Australia in one T20 match and one ODI in England, against England, in 2015. Stoinis looked like he had arrived on the scene having been Victoria's leading run scorer in the Sheffield Shield in 2014/15 and bowling at good pace. With Cricket Australia seemingly desperate to find the next Shane Watson, a genuine batsman that can be used as a fifth bowler, the door remains open for Stoinis at 27 years of age. If the Stars want to go on and win their first BBL trophy, Stonis is going to have to step up in the next couple of weeks

Lurker Well Placed To Get Back In the Winner's Circle

It's been a rough couple of games for The Lurker, however he backed the Melbourne Stars with confidence tonight. At half time he would have to be favourite to go to 15-7 after Adelaide posted a very mediocre score of 8/152 from their 20 overs . The Lurker also thinks the Stars' opening partnership will be over 25.5 in one of his rarer offerings of the entire BBL6 campaign