BBL14: Perth Scorchers take down Melbourne Stars in Optus Stadium season opener

Whiz kid Cooper Connolly struck a maiden BBL half-century to ensure the Perth Scorchers began their campaign with a well-rounded six-wicket win over Melbourne Stars at Optus Stadium on Sunday evening.

But the night was soured by a neck injury to Stars batter and West Australian Hilton Cartwright, who was stretchered from the ground and taken to hospital after he was hurt trying to save a boundary.

Promoted to No.3, Connolly played a near faultless innings highlighted by an audacious six over point to finish with 64 off 51 deliveries and ensure Perth comfortably chased the Stars’ sub-par 9-146 with 17 balls remaining.

In his first clash after recovering from a broken hand he suffered just last month while playing for Australia, Connolly combined with reliable skipper Ashton Turner (an unbeaten 37 off 27 deliveries) for a 68-run stand which broke the visitors with their incredible running between the wickets.

Connolly’s knock backed up a typical miserly bowling performance from Perth, led by Player of the Match Jhye Richardson, who took 3-19 off his four overs.

Electing to bat, the Stars were strangled in a game-opening maiden from Jason Behrendorff and were unable to establish any solid foundation, losing 2-13 in the powerplay and 2-14 in the power surge despite electing to bat.

Richardson capitalised on the build-up of Behrendorff’s pressure at the other end, nicking off former Joe Clarke for a nine-ball duck before trapping first-drop Sam Harper in front for one.

Some late fireworks from recruit Sam Curran (37 runs off 19 balls including three sixes) and a solid knock by skipper Marcus Stoinis (37 off 33) ensured they were at least able to muster a competitive total.

Stoinis had loomed large but threw away a promising knock in the power surge when he took on Andrew Tye at mid-on, only for the veteran bowler’s throw to hit the stumps with the Stars skipper well short of his ground.

It kept getting worse for the Cartwright (18 off 17) blasting a six off Agar only to go for one to many and sky the ball to mid-off the next ball.

Curran and Beau Webster threatened to change the momentum of the match, but Richardson returned into the attack with success, using the short ball to get latter caught behind.

The English all-rounder continued to throw the bat as he tried to push the score past 150, but he came undone by the pace of Lance Morris (2-30 off four overs) who finally got a ball on target after a wayward innings.

Perth’s innings got off to an incredible start when human highlight-reel Finn Allen smashed countryman Adam Milne over wide long-on for a monster six off the first ball of the innings.

Milne got his revenge the next ball he swung one between Allen’s bat and pad to knock over the New Zealand star.

Keaton Jennings (four) fell in the second over to evergreen Victorian Peter Siddle, while Matty Hurst (four) clipped one to mid-wicket off Brody Couch to leave the home side at a nervy 3-37.

It brought the experienced Turner together with Connolly who managed the scoreboard brilliantly to give Perth a perfect start to their summer.

Even Connolly’s departure couldn’t break the momentum, with Nick Hobson blasting an unbeaten 27 off 14 balls to extend Perth’s winning streak over the Stars to seven matches.