BBL 2018-19 | Nine out of 11 players didn’t commit to their plans against Sixers, admits David Hussey
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Melbourne Stars head coach David Hussey is disappointed that nine out of his 11 batsmen did not commit to their plans while attempting to chase down a moderate total of 143 set by the Sydney Sixers. The Stars will now face the winners of the Adelaide Strikers-Sydney Thunder clash on Thursday.
After racing out of the blocks and sealing their place in the playoffs with 10 wins in their first 11 matches, the Stars succumbed to three tame defeats in the three fixtures since. And once again, Hussey’s men produced an abject batting display to succumb to a 43-run loss at their home ground on Friday. Angry at the performance of his team, Hussey revealed that he would raise "hard-hitting and confronting questions" of his players.Â
“We'll review tonight's game, each individual player, I'll go round to each player and ask them some hard-hitting questions and confronting questions, but we were completely outplayed tonight. It's more one on one with the batting coaches and myself, asking them about their plan and whether they actually committed to that plan, and whether they wanted to play that way, that style of cricket in that game, and I reckon nine out of the 11 who played tonight didn't commit to their plans tonight,” Hussey said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
Chasing a moderate score of 142, the Stars were bowled out for 99 — their lowest Big Bash total in nine seasons. Last season against city-rivals Renegades, they encountered a similar fate last year when they crashed from a winning position.Â
"In previous seasons, every semi-final we've lost has been in Perth, beaten by a pretty good Perth team and they've either gone on to win the competition or finish second. Perth is a very hard place to play, so playing here probably hurts the most,” Hussey added.
