Manuka Oval to suit big-hitting BBL Stars

And he should know, "The Big Show" has made a habit of tearing bowling attacks apart in Canberra.

You only have to cast your mind back to the start of December and Maxwell's outrageous switch hit that landed on the roof of the Bob Hawke Stand.

Not only igniting the crowd, but also debate on whether it should be a legal shot.

Bah humbug to anyone who wants to wipe it out of the game. Maxwell certainly took no notice of the hoo haa, which he admitted surprised him.

He's never seen cleaner hitting than what Pooran produced in the Stars' thrilling loss to the Sydney Sixers on Boxing Day.

The West Indian smashed 65 runs off just 26 balls - including eight sixes.

He was hitting it so well Maxwell told him to stop looking for singles so he didn't interrupt his momentum.

It bodes well for Canberra cricket fans when the Stars take on the Sydney Thunder at Manuka on Tuesday night.

Maybe not for the Thunder bowlers though.

"That's probably as clean a hitting as I've ever seen in the Big Bash," Maxwell said.

"To be at the other end not wanting him to hit a single and just watching him go about his work was pretty cool.

"Hopefully that's just the beginning because I know how good he is.

"I don't think there's too many wickets that don't suit him around the world. When you've got the pure swing that he has - and to be fair I didn't think that [Carrara] wicket was very good.

"I thought it was tennis-ball bounce, it actually had a little bit there for the bowlers."

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That's without even taking into account Maxwell's own form at Manuka.

It's clearly a ground he's fond of.

He smashed 59 off 38 balls the night of the switch hit in a one-day international against India on December 2.

Then there was the 46 off 26 against the Brisbane Heat and 39 off 29 against the Thunder a couple of weeks ago.

That's without even mentioning his 136 off 89 in a Prime Minister's XI game six years ago.

"Personally it's been nice to make some runs here and we started the tournament off here as well and payed quite nicely at the start," Maxwell said.

"So [it's] good to be back here and looking forward to hitting the ground running [Tuesday]."

While the Stars will be without opening quick Nathan Coulter-Nile (calf), Maxwell will be welcoming back even more firepower.

He thought both Marcus Stoinis (side) and Nic Maddinson (quarantine) would come into the side to face the Stars.

"[Coulter-Nile]'s still a little bit sore. I don't think he had a scan. I think he's done a similar injury before and he's still in good spirits," Maxwell said.

"He thinks it won't take too long for him to get back.

"Hopefully having Marcus and Nic Maddinson at my disposal, which will be nice.

"Obviously with the loss of Nathan having a bit more experience coming back into the side will be handy for us.

"The sort of form [Stoinis] has been in as well is extremely exciting for the Stars. Hopefully he can get us off to an exciting start with him and [Andre Fletcher]."

The Stars are enjoying a five-game winning streak against the Thunder, which included their 22-run win at Manuka on December 12.

Thunder allrounder Nathan McAndrew admitted Maxwell's team had become their bogey team in recent history.

Just one point separated the two teams on the BBL ladder, with the Thunder sitting second ahead of the fourth-placed Stars.

Maxwell said it was unusual to play the same team twice on the same ground - especially so early in the competition.

"We've played quite well [against them] and we've played quite consistently well over the last couple of years," he said.

"Not just the Thunder, I feel like we've been one of the more successful teams in the competition.

"We've reached two finals back-to-back and we're hoping to reach another one this year.

"And if we can keep playing good consistent cricket - we were probably a little bit unlucky the other night we only just missed that win - but we feel like we're in a great space as a team so we feel like we're in good spirits."

BBL10

Tuesday: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars at Manuka Oval, 7.15pm.