3 minute read

Melbourne Stars' captain Glenn Maxwell is expecting a slog-a-thon between teammate Andre Fletcher and Brisbane's Chris Lynn in the BBL clash in Canberra.

Melbourne Stars' captain Glenn Maxwell can't wait to see West Indian recruit Andre Fletcher's Big Bash League debut against Brisbane on Friday.

Fletcher, who labels himself the 'Spiceman', has made an instant impression on Maxwell, as the Stars begin their BBL campaign against the Heat in Canberra.

The 33-year-old right-hander is a no-nonsense striker of the ball, similar in style to Heat captain Chris Lynn.

It's a contest that Maxwell cannot wait to witness unfold at Manuka Oval.

"You're going to see some hard-hitting," Maxwell said.

"He's going to be certainly going pretty hard in that power play. He's probably going to be at the top of the order.

"He's going to excite our fans that's for sure. Probably in the same sort of batting style as Chris Lynn.

"Not a whole lot of movement, get that front leg out of the way and try to hit it as far as you can.

"It's going to be entertaining to watch a couple of power-hitters going up against each other tomorrow night."

The Stars once again missed out on a silverware last summer as they lost the BBL09 final to the Sydney Sixers.

With Fletcher joining a team already boasting Maxwell and fellow Australian representatives Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa, the Stars are aiming to go one better this summer.

"We've been improving the last couple of years," Maxwell said.

"We're going in the right direction and hopefully we can build on last year."

Brisbane, who finished a lowly seventh last year, enter this summer with a much-changed squad.

AB de Villiers, Matthew Renshaw, James Pattinson, Ben Cutting and Josh Lalor have all exited.

The Heat have also suffered setbacks with Englishman Tom Banton pulling out of his planned stint and Afghan teen Mujeeb ur Rahman in hospital recovering from COVID-19.

It means Lynn will lead an inexperienced line-up into the opening stanza of the tournament.