MELBOURNE Stars are staring down the barrel of a disappointing BBL|14 campaign after suffering a fifth straight loss to open the season, this time to the Sydney Thunder. A remarkable non-challenge on a run out for eventual Player of the Match Sam Billings proved the decisive moment in the match, with the Englishman smashing 72 off 39 to guide the Thunder to a second win in three games.

There was plenty of head scratching going on from Stars fans as they watched on in disbelief when Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis and bowler Peter Siddle opted not to challenge the attempted runout for Billings when he was on 16. Replays showed the Englishman was out of his crease when Joel Paris hit the stumps from the field.

Billings would go on to star fo the Thunder as he steered his team to victory, and the only Thunder player to score more than 33 on the night with the home side smacking 8-182 at Manuka Oval. In response, the Stars would fall 18 runs short, with Ben Duckett again putting on a one-man show. Duckett scored 67 runs off 49 balls, to make up almost half of his side’s score on the night.

It would ultimately not be enough though, with Stonis (22 off 17) the next highest scorer for the Stars, as they collapsed during the second over of their Power Surge. It was a disappointing finish from an innings that promised so much early, as the Stars raced to a score of 3-96 at the halfway mark of the innings.

Duckett and Hilton Cartwright had smashed 18 runs off the 10th over and it was looking like the visitors might finally crack through for a win. But Tom Andrews and Daniel Sams had other ideas, keeping the Stars to just 11 runs the next three overs, and with four overs to go, Melbourne had crawled to 5-132, still 50 runs short of the target.

The Stars opted for the Power Surge at that point, and after grabbing 14 runs in the 17th over, Billings again ripped the heart out of the visitors. This time, he was catching everything bowler Wes Agar was putting down. Jonathan Merlo, Usama Mir and Beau Webster fell in the 18th over, with the Stars going from 5-146 to 8-152 in the blink of an eye. From there, it was game over with Melbourne only able to add a further 12 runs to the total.

Earlier in the evening, Sydney Thunder had set the Stars a task thanks to Billings’ knock. He hit nine boundaries and two over the rope to finish with a strike rate of 184.62 from his 72 runs. He and Jason Sangha created a 60-run fourth wicket partnership before Sangha was dismissed by Siddle in the 13th over.

Billings almost saw out the innings, eventually bowled by Siddle in the third last over, but not before the Englishman punished the Aussie quick for not challenging his mistimed run 56 runs earlier. Sams (16 off eight) helped the tail wag a little, with openers Cameron Bancroft (21 off 16) and skipper Dave Warner (19 off 15) getting the Thunder off to the perfect start.

The result meant the Thunder moved up to fourth on the table with a 2-1 record, while the Stars are firmly anchored to the bottom having played the most games – five – and lost them all. Sydney Thunder will play host to Melbourne Renegades on New Year’s Eve, while the Stars head to Brisbane next to tackle the Heat on New Year’s DAy.

SCORECARD

RESULT: Thunder won by 18 runs
POTM: Sam Billings (Sydney Thunder)
BAT FLIP: Stars won and elected to bowl

Sydney Thunder 8-182 (20)
Sam Billings 72 (39), Jason Sangha 33 (27)
Beau Webster 3-42 (4), Peter Siddle 2-33 (4), Usama Mir 2-37 (4)

Melbourne Stars 8-164 (20)
Ben Duckett 67 (49), Marcus Stoinis 22 (17)
Wes Agar 3-25 (4), Lochie Ferguson 1-27 (4), Tom Andrews 1-32 (4)

INNINGS BREAKDOWN:

Power Play (1-4):
Thunder: 0-33
Stars: 1-32

Halfway (10):
Thunder: 3-79
Stars: 3-96

Power Surge:
Thunder: (15-16): 4-120 to 5-140 (1-20)
Stars: (17-18): 5-132 to 8-152 (3-20)

Totals:
Thunder: 8-182 (20)
Stars: 8-164 (20)

SQUADS

Melbourne Stars: Ben Duckett, Sam Harper (wk), Marcus Stoinis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Beau Webster, Usama Mir, Jonathan Merlo, Joel Paris, Peter Siddle, Brody Couch

Sydney Thunder: David Warner (c), Cameron Bancroft, Jason Sangha, Oliver Davies, Sam Billings (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Chris Green, Daniel Sams, Tom Andrews, Lockie Ferguson, Wes Agar