BBL 2023-24: Melbourne Stars' Glenn Maxwell ruled out of next match against Perth

Glenn Maxwell captained Melbourne Stars in their opening match of the BBL 2023-24.

Glenn Maxwell, the Melbourne Stars captain, has suffered an injury in their Big Bash League (BBL 2023-24) opening match against Brisbane Heat, which was played in Brisbane on December 7, 2023.

Glenn Maxwell had won the toss on Thursday night and invited the Heat to bat first. Colin Munro starred with 99* in 61 balls with 5 sixes and 9 fours, while Marnus Labuschagne made 30 and skipper Usman Khawaja made 28. The Heat posted a total of 214/3 in 20 overs.

In response, the Stars lost both openers for single-digit scores. And the Heat continued the pressure as only Hilton Cartwright (33), Glenn Maxwell (23), and Joe Burns (22) reached double figures for the Stars. The Melbourne Stars were bundled up for 111 in 15.1 overs as Heat won by a massive 103 runs.

Mitchell Swepson with 3/23 and Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett with two scalps each stood out with the ball.

Glenn Maxwell injures his forearm, to miss next match for Stars; Nathan Coulter-Nile suffers injury as well

However, the night for Stars got even worse as captain Glenn Maxwell, fresh off a World Cup 2023 win, suffered a forearm injury. He winced in pain early in his 14-ball innings of 23, grabbing at his forearm after swatting a boundary off Brisbane Heat quick Spencer Johnson.

Maxwell received treatment twice and he continued batting with a thick taping wrapped around his right arm but was dismissed shortly after, clearly in pain, as his team fell to a 103-run opening-night loss in Brisbane. Maxwell will miss the Stars’ next encounter with Perth Scorchers.

Maxwell’s absence puts extra pressure on Marcus Stoinis to lead the batting order, while the Stars lose a crucial spin-bowling option.

“He’s got the biggest forearms in the world and he’s pulled a muscle. He’s played a lot of cricket, hope he’s OK. He’s been awesome. He’s had a nice break from the World Cup. He’s been super positive around anything. We just had a quick team meeting (after the game). He was still very positive, and had the attitude of what we didn’t get right tonight.

We’ll move forward and work on it at training. He’s always been like that. He’s got a really level head around reviewing games. I think it’s a real credit to him to keep that positive attitude,” Hilton Cartwright said as per FoxSports.

Apart from Maxwell, Stars also lost the services of pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile, as he picked up a calf strain. He came out to bat at No. 11 with a runner.

“They are both soft tissue so we’ll have to see how the scrub up. Hopefully both aren’t too bad but we’ll just have to wait and see,” Stars coach Peter Moores said.

Stars will be hoping to rely on Pakistan’s fast Haris Rauf, who was not selected against Heat despite having just recently arrived in the country. England fast bowler Olly Stone, along with Liam Dawson and Usama Mir, were one of their three overseas players.

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