“Silencing the crowd at the Adelaide Oval”: Marcus Stoinis hits 4 sixes in Henry Thornton over to set NYE BBL 12 match on fire

Leaving behind a dismal four-match lean patch in Big Bash League 2022-23, Melbourne Stars all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has finally come to the fore on the back of an attacking half-century against Adelaide Strikers at the Adelaide Oval.

Coming in to bat at No. 4 around the halfway mark, Stoinis not only crossed the 10-run mark for the first time in fifth BBL 12 innings but also went on to set the stage on fire via a 22nd T20 and 16th BBL half-century.

Popularly known as the “Hulk”, the 33-year old player did optimum justice to his nickname scoring 74 (35) with the help of five fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 211.42. Putting on display brute force in an away match, Stoinis played a titular role in powering Stars to 186/7 in 20 overs after captain Adam Zampa won the toss and chose to bat.

Marcus Stoinis hits 4 sixes in Henry Thornton over

Stoinis’ innings peaked in the 18th over when he scored as many as 28 runs off five deliveries bowled by Adelaide pacer Henry Thornton. With Stars scoring 29 runs in the over, it ended up becoming the joint-second most expensive over in the history of the BBL.

It was on the second delivery of the over that Stoinis smashed Thornton for a massive six over deep mid-wicket to complete a 28-ball half-century. A commonality between all four Stoinis sixes in this over was his supreme hand-eye coordination treating ordinary Thornton deliveries with disdain.

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While the second and fourth sixes were mere replicas of the first one, the third one was hit over the long-off fielder but with an equal amount of disrespect. A full-toss, the penultimate delivery of the over was inside-edged by Stoinis for a boundary through the fine leg region.

Melbourne opening batters Joe Clarke (42) and Thomas Rogers (30) were instrumental in providing their team with a brisk start on the back of a 44-ball 63-run opening stand.