- BBL star James Vince crunched a ball when at the crease
- English import for the Sydney Sixers struck a seagull
- The bird came off second best in brutal scenes at MCG
Big Bash cricketer James Vince is renowned for his powerful hitting at the crease – and it was brutally evident on Thursday night at the MCG.
The English import for the Sydney Sixers plundered a shot back past Melbourne Stars paceman Joel Paris – and unfortunately a seagull got in the way at the worst possible time.
In distressing scenes, the rock hard white cricket ball bounced off the bird and over the boundary rope as spectators watched on stunned.
A security guard was then seen taking the seagull away.
‘Oh no, oh no. We’ve been talking about it all night. Gilly [Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist] you said something would happen,’ Mark Howard said in commentary for Fox Cricket.
‘Hopefully S Gull is OK.’
Englishman Ben Duckett was mic’d up at the time for Fox Cricket and was fielding just metres from the incident.
‘He didn’t look in a good way there,’ Duckett told viewers. ‘I think he’s dead…it didn’t look too nice, it actually hit him so hard.’
Seagulls interrupting BBL games is nothing new at the MCG – in 2015, one was struck by a ball smashed by Perth Scorchers star Adam Voges in a match against the Stars – but after being assisted from the field, appeared to make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, Glenn Maxwell’s heroics on Thursday inspired the Stars to a crucial 16-run upset of the ladder-leading Sixers, keeping their slim finals chances alive.
On the same day he was overlooked for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, the veteran all-rounder belted a game-high unbeaten 58 while also taking two important catches in the deep.
‘Credit to Maxi. Look, he might be disappointed about the Test squad,’ Stars skipper Marcus Stoinis said post game.
‘There’s arguments for him to be in that but the true professional he is, he rocked up, showed the crowd, showed us what he can do.’
After starting the season 0-5, the Stars can remarkably still qualify for the BBL finals if they beat the Melbourne Renegades and Hobart Hurricanes in their remaining two games and other results go their way.
The Sixers (4-2, one no-result) missed a golden opportunity to consolidate their position on top of the table ahead of a clash at the SCG on Saturday against the Perth Scorchers.
