by Melbourne Renegades 166 for 7 (Maddinson 87, Russell 35, Kuhnemann 3-32) batting Brisbane Heat 144 for 6 (Peirson 43, Munro 35, Hosein 3-15) with 22 runs
Maddinson got out of the blocks quickly, kept his cool as four wickets fell in a flurry, and put his foot back down late to lift the Renegades to 7 for 166 batting first in Cairns after being sent in.
Playing his first match in the BBL, Hossein was the dominant bowler on the night which gave the Renegades a great start to the new campaign after finishing bottom of the table last season.
Heat recruit Colin Munro (35 off 30 balls), with 65 T20 caps to his name for New Zealand, found top form with the bat before being run out by a direct hit from Tom Rogers.
Maddinson earlier set the platform for victory. He took 20 off Xavier Bartlett’s second over and another 22 off his third in a 49-ball innings, including 10 fours and three sixes, which produced his highest score in T20 cricket. Andre Russell (35 off 28 balls) celebrated his return to the Renegades with a powerful innings including three sixes.
The visitors rocketed to 0 for 65 in six overs before Sam Harper was well caught at fine leg by Josh Brown off the first delivery bowled by the impressive James Bazley.
Renegades lost 4 for 13 in four overs due to some astute captaincy by Peirson and smart bowling by spinners Mitch Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann. Swepson bowled Jake Fraser-McGurk with a classic googly. Then Kuhnemann took two wickets in one over by slowing the pace and bamboozling Aaron Finch and off-season recruit Jono Wells.
That’s when Maddinson and Russell took control in a 78-run stand off 46 deliveries. Maddinson, then 42, was involved in a bizarre incident when he played a pull-shot off Mark Steketee.
The ball lobbed over the stumps but a bail went off. On review, it was clear that the released bail was an unexplained mystery, but that there was no mistake.
