Melbourne Renegades have won a tense BBL derby

JThe Melbourne Renegades have won a tense BBL derby despite two Melbourne Stars players being awarded six runs for shots that hit the Marvel Stadium roofJ

oe Clarke and Beau Webster were controversially awarded sixes for shots that hit the Marvel Stadium roof as the Melbourne Stars’ KFC BBL finals hopes ended in a tense derby clash defeat.

In a result that brought back memories from the BBL|08 final, the Stars threw away victory in a six-run defeat to the Melbourne Renegades on Saturday night.

The result left the Stars (3-8) languishing on the bottom of the ladder and strengthened the Renegades’ (6-5) grip on a finals spot.

The biggest talking point came from skied shots into the retractable part of the Docklands venue’s roof by Clarke and Webster.

Both would have resulted in catching chances for the Renegades, but the Stars were awarded six runs under BBL playing conditions. 

Stars coach David Hussey, whose brother Mike Hussey hit the roof while playing a one-dayer for Australia against a World XI in 2005, welcomed Clarke’s “free” six runs.

“I think it actually got Joe going, too, which is nice,” Hussey said on Fox Sports.

The incidents frustrated Renegades stand-in captain Aaron Finch.

Ironically, it was a shot by Finch in 2013 which led to the rule being changed in the first place.

“It would’ve been two simple catches tonight. They’re both straight up,” Finch told Fox Sports.

While the Stars’ collapse wasn’t as severe as when they lost 7-19 to cough up the BBL|08 against the Renegades, they were again in a position of power with only a handful of overs remained.

The equation for the Stars was just 21 runs from the final four overs with six wickets in hand.

But they fell apart, staggering to 7-156 in pursuit of 163 for victory as Kane Richardson (2-17), Tom Rogers (2-45) and Will Sutherland (0-39) tightened the screws late.

Renegades spin duo Fawad Ahmed (1-20) and Ruwantha Kellepotha (1-33) also helped turn the tide in the back half of the innings, combining for 12 consecutive dot balls across three overs.

Sam Harper’s third consecutive half-century (51 from 36) had helped lift the Renegades to a competitive total of 7-162 after they were sent in to bat.