‘Has he just dropped the mace?’ The thrilling finish to the Melbourne derby that had the MCG rocking
By Peter Ryan
The MCG hosted some serious cricket on Sunday night.
It came in the form of the BBL. That’s right. That is not a joke.
Will Sutherland secured the inaugural Melbourne Mace for the Renegades over the once-again stumbling Stars by smashing a six on the penultimate ball, delighting a massive crowd of 68,124 who turned out at the MCG to move past a disappointing Boxing Day Test.
Will Sutherland with the Melbourne Mace after hitting the winning runs for the Renegades in the Derby. Credit: Getty Images
Those watching on Fox were treated to the line of the summer when “Mr Cricket”, Mike Hussey, asked, “has he just dropped the mace?” when the Stars’ Tom Curran dropped Ollie Peake as the batter desperately tried to hit back-to-back sixes with 16 runs needed off the final eight balls.
Hussey’s killer one-liner cut through the tension. Dropping the “Melbourne Mace” - which is almost as tall as Sutherland and looks like a giant oar, awarded to the team that wins the derby - might not be like dropping the world cup or the Ashes, but there was no doubt the players cared.
Tom Curran laments after dropping a catch.Credit: Getty Images
When Peake was run out just one ball after being dropped, the Renegades headed to the final over needing 13 runs to scramble what had seemed a certain victory when they were 1-127 after 14 overs chasing 174.
Sutherland hit a six with the first and fifth ball of the over to ensure the Stars weren’t the ones accused of choking, a reputation they have built since the record crowd of 80,883 turned up to the MCG 10 years ago on January 2, 2016 when the BBL was considered a must-watch.
Maxwell not so smart
Glenn Maxwell has not made a happy start to the new year with the bat.
His two innings in the first four days of 2026 have yielded two runs in six balls.
On Sunday night, he repeated his effort on Friday night and was out for one.
It was classic Maxwell. But it was not smart. He decided after two dot balls that whatever came next, he was dispatching it over the boundary.
Left-arm tweaker Hassan Khan knew that was likely and threw in a slower ball to confuse Maxwell.
Maxwell took the bait, mistiming his pre-ordained whack over mid-on and was back in the pavilion with the crowd’s hopes of watching him in full flight.
It was a win for spin bowling as fears grew about the future of the art in Test cricket following the Aussies’ non-selection of Todd Murphy in the fifth Test.
The topic is hot. Even Shane Warne’s son Jackson was asked on Fox what “Warnie” would have thought about Australia not picking a spinner in the final two tests of the Ashes.
“I think he would have been pretty filthy ... and said ‘if you need a spinner I’ll come out of retirement, get me in there. I hope we still see some spinners come through’,” Jackson Warne said.
Filthy is probably being diplomatic and fair enough, too.
Glenn Maxwell is yet to make a huge impact on the scoreboard in 2026.Credit: Getty Images
Meanwhile, Maxwell, despite just 43 runs from four knocks in this year’s BBL, remains the most dangerous player in the tournament and a key to Australia’s hopes in the T20 World Cup in February.
No need to worry. This is T20. Getting out doesn’t matter. What matters is your capability.
Maxwell has a month of hit and giggle to get himself in the right mood for the first match against Ireland in Sri Lanka on February 11.
Hard work, Fraser-McGurk?
Jake Fraser-McGurk might be all duck, no dinner with the bat, but in the field, he is normally ultra-reliable.
Not so on Sunday night when he was as erratic as a racehorse that had lost its jockey.
He was too keen on diving for a ball in the deep and helped it over the boundary line in the second over.
Just four balls later, he stood under a Sam Harper slog - who is this season’s highest BBL scorer - which sent the ball in the air like fireworks.
He lost sight of it in the sun but held his position and caught the ball low down.
“I don’t like wearing sunnies in the field,” McGurk told Channel 7.
That wasn’t the answer we expected from the talented youngster.
But whatever works for you is what matters most. He showed his talent in the next 13 balls when he saved two runs with some brilliant out-fielding and took another catch.
But even Fraser-McGurk is capable of fielding like a park cricketer.
On the final ball of the 17th over, he was nutmegged as he went to field Tom Curran’s slog through midwicket.
Perhaps his role on the microphone for the broadcaster while fielding is too distracting.
It wasn’t his night. He made just four runs off nine balls when the game was there to be won.
But he should be opening the batting, not sweating at number four.
Big Hitting Brown
No one had heard of Josh Brown back in 2016. He was playing third-grade cricket.
They do now.
Josh Brown went on to notch 84 runs. Credit: Getty Images
Big Brown belted the Stars everywhere, hitting four sixes and eight fours on his way to making 84 off 48 balls. He lived dangerously but batted well.
Tom Rogers dropped Brown at long on just before he reached 50 and Mitch Swepson miraculously saved six by catching the ball just inside the boundary before releasing it as he tipped over the boundary line.
If the Renegades had lost that boundary line decision, it would have been a big talking point as Swepson’s foot appeared to touch the boundary before he released the ball.
