Joe Clarke and Hilton Cartwright steer Melbourne Stars to victory over Brisbane Heat

Clarke posted 85 runs off 44 balls – his second half-century of the tournament – while Cartwright scored 79 (44) to help the Stars post an imposing 207 for 9 from their 20 overs

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Brisbane: Melbourne Stars 207-9, Brisbane Heat 187-9 – Melbourne Stars won by 20 runs

Joe Clarke and Hilton Cartwright were on song with the bat as Melbourne Stars defeated Brisbane Heat by 20 runs at the Gabba and recorded their first win in three matches.

English opener Clarke scored just 14 runs in his first four outings for the Stars, making him vulnerable at the top of the order. However, after scoring 52 against Hobart Hurricanes on December 24, he appears to have rediscovered the form which saw him score 408 runs at 37.09 in the 2021 T20 Blast.

Clarke posted 85 runs from just 44 balls against the Heat, including seven fours and five sixes, while Cartwright, batting at no.5, scored 79 from 44 balls.

The Stars started poorly, with three of Clarke’s partners - Marcus Stoinis  (0), Joe Burns (2) and Glenn Maxwell (2) - departing inside the opening three overs. However, together with Cartwright, he added 151 runs off just 74 balls for the third wicket to catapult the Stars beyond the 160-mark.

Liam Guthrie removed Cartwright (caught Ben Duckett) for 79 (44) in the 15th over, sparking a mini-collapse which saw the Stars lose Cartwright, Andre Russell, Clarke and Coulter-Nile for just 14 runs and slip to 181 for 7.

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Hilton Cartwright scored a half-century [Steve Bell/Getty Images]

However, tail-end resistance came from the bat of Qais Ahmad, whose six-ball 16 in the company of Beau Webster and Adam Zampa enabled the Melbourne outfit to close on 207 for 9.

Guthrie, in particular, took a beating from Clarke and Cartwright, taking 2 for 70 (two fours, seven sixes) from his four overs. Mark Steketee took 3 for 40, James Bazley picked up 2 for 40 and Matthew Kuhnemann and Mujeeb Ur Rahman – the only players to concede fewer than eight an over – collected one apiece.

In reply, Brody Couch picked up two wickets in the first over, removing Max Bryant and Tom Cooper to reduce the Heat to 12 for 2.

Chris Lynn put on an 82-run third-wicket stand with Duckett (54 off 35) and added further 30 runs with Sam Heazlett before departing for 57 (34) in the 13th over. However, with 79 required from 44 balls, Brisbane Heat were all but out of the contest.

Jimmy Pierson, runout by Cartwright and Peter Nevill, and Bazley, bowled by Ahmad, followed shortly after to reduce the Heat to 134 for 6 in the 15th over and wickets continued to fall steadily until close, Brisbane falling 21 runs shy of their target with one wicket in hand. A spirited 11 off four from Guthrie was the only highlight with the bat post-Lynn.

Couch and Ahmad took three wickets apiece, the former posting an expensive 3 for 34 and the latter a miserly 3 for 26. Coulter-Nile and Zampa were the other wicket-takers.

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