One often gets disappointed when a precious entity gets damaged or lost. Marcus Stoinis felt a similar emotion when his favourite willow was broken in two halves by a searing Jhye Richardson delivery during the 2024/25 Big Bash League tournament opener at the Optus Stadium, Perth.
The decision to bat first after winning the bat flip didn’t quite pay off as the top-order faltered against the new ball pair of Jason Behrendorff and Jhye Richardson. The latter was reintroduced during the middle-overs stage again when captain Marcus Stoinis stabilized the stage and looked to command the driver’s seat. During the bat and ball contest, the pacer happened to destroy the all-rounder’s bat in the twelfth over.
The fourth ball of the twelfth over saw Richardson come over the wicket and bowl a wide yorker to the right-hander. Stoinis tried to reach out for it but ended up getting hit on the cue end of the willow. Eventually, the handle came off from the blade and Stoinis was seen devastated. The on-air commentators reckoned that he lost his favourite bat and the all-rounder was seen asking for a change in bat. However, Stoinis could last only a couple of balls with the new bat before getting run out, courtesy of a brilliant direct hit at the non-striker’s end from Andrew Tye.
