An unfortunate incident occurred on January 9 (Thursday) when James Vince hit a powerful shot to hurt a seagull during the match between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars. It was the 10th over of the game bowled by the left-arm seamer Joel Paris.
Vince came down the track to a fuller-length ball from around the wicket to Paris and smashed it with immense power over the non-striker’s head. The ball seemed destined to go for a four but unfortunately hit a seagull on the way near the long-on boundary.
The bird immediately fell on the ground, fluttering its wings in pain as the feathers spread on the field. James Vince looked disgusted after hitting the ball straight to the seagull.
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Watch: James Vince’s powerful shot hurts seagull
Seagull down 💀 and couldn’t save the boundary. #BBL pic.twitter.com/cfEoSmfKPV
— GrandmasterGamma (@mandaout12) January 9, 2025
The ball went to the boundary ropes on the bounce but it didn’t quite matter to the players and the spectators. The ground staff of the Melbourne Cricket Ground arrived later and took the seagull with them.
James Vince top-scores for Sydney Sixers
James Vince top-scored for his team and finished with 53 off 44 balls with 6 fours. He was dismissed in the 14th over of the match and his dismissal triggered a collapse which saw the Sixers lose three wickets for just one run.
Earlier, Sydney Sixers won the toss and elected to field first. The Stars were rocked early as they lost the wicketkeeper Sam Harper in the second over of the match. They were reduced to 60-4 in the 10th over on a difficult batting pitch.
However, Glenn Maxwell rose to the occasion and played his best knock of the season. He found an able partner in Beau Webster, who continued the good form from his Test debut against India and scored a fine 48 off 41 balls.
Glenn Maxwell takes Melbourne Stars to an incredible win
Maxwell remained unbeaten till the end and scored 58 off just 32 balls. He struck 5 fours and 3 sixes during his knock. Sean Abbott was the pick of the bowlers for Sydney Sixers and finished with 30-9 in 4 overs.
In reply, Sydney Sixers got a sedate start but Melbourne Stars bowlers didn’t let the game slip away at any stage by keeping the run rate in check. Wicketkeeper Josh Philippe was dismissed early and Kurtis Patterson and Moises Henriques couldn’t carry on after getting good starts.
None of the batters apart from James Vince could make a significant contribution as they were reduced to just 140-9 in 20 overs. Fast bowler Mark Steketee finished with 3-14 for the Stars while Peter Siddle and Usama Mir finished with two wickets each.
It was a big win for Melbourne Stars as they came into the match as underdogs. Sydney Sixers have slipped to the second spot after the defeat while Melbourne Stars have moved one spot above the bottom-placed Adelaide Strikers.