Two wickets, a catch and a batting rescue job from reliable David Hussey have delivered the Melbourne Stars an MCG win over the Adelaide Strikers and a Big Bash semi-final berth.
The Stars, who chased down the Strikers' 125 all out with six wickets and seven balls to spare on Thursday night, will now play the Perth Scorchers in one semi-final at the WACA on Saturday night, with the Hobart Hurricanes to host the Sydney Sixers a day later in the other.
Hussey carried his side home with an unbeaten 41 from 36 balls, with captain Cameron White (28 from 30 balls) the main support.
The Strikers' dismal total batting first, kept low by seamer Clint McKay's 3 for 17, should have made for an easier Stars run-chase.
But they slumped to 3 for 38 inside seven overs.
The slump started with a piece of stunning reflex fielding by Nathan Lyon, to run out opener Rob Quiney (two) off his own bowling.
When Luke Wright (nine), coming off the tournament's highest individual score, and Adam Voges (16) also fell quickly, the game was up for grabs.
The turning point came at the start of the ninth over, with the Stars on 3 for 39.
Hussey mistimed a shot down the ground from ex-Victorian team-mate and legspinner Bryce McGain.
Had it been caught at long-off, the Stars would have been in a huge hole.
Instead, it just cleared fieldsman Alfonso Thomas and the boundary rope, helping the Stars to 12 from the over.
Some loose bowling by newly-signed New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin soon after further swung the match the Stars' way and put Hussey and White on track for a pivotal 64-run stand.
Earlier, Callum Ferguson (41 from 29 balls) played a lone hand with the bat for the Strikers.
The match was played in front of 26,133 spectators, which took the competition's regular season crowd aggregate to 504,663 from 28 games.
AAP
Tags: sport, cricket, twenty20, melbourne-3000, vic, australia First posted January 19, 2012 22:06:31
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