Melbourne Stars 4 for 165 (Larkin 52*, Cartwright 42, Tanveer Sangha 2-29) beat Sydney Thunder 5 for 161 (Gilkes 56, Billings 43, Coulter-Nile 2-27) by four runs

Stars welcomed the inclusions of Russell, Marcus Stoinis, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pakistani spinner Qais Ahmad, but were pushed to the brink by Thunder, whose bid for consecutive wins to start the season fell short.

Thunder rue late stutter as Zampa keeps his cool

Their momentum was halted when Billings fell to a brilliant outfield catch from Glenn Maxwell and Thunder then fell in a hole leaving Alex Ross and Ben Cutting a lot of work to do in the final overs.

The pair were up for it as they smashed 12 runs in the penultimate over from a rusty-looking Russell. In a manic final over, where a nervous Stars fumbled in the field marked by a rare dropped catch from Maxwell, a composed Zampa thwarted Cutting’s attempts at a match-winning, result-sealing six by bowling a dot ball.

Zampa wins blockbuster battle with Hales

Zampa’s heroics started in the second over when he had the tough task of bowling to Alex Hales in the powerplay.

The English dynamo drew first blood with a beautiful drive to the boundary to overtake compatriot Luke Wright as the leading overseas run scorer in BBL history. An inventive Hales sought to rattle Zampa and it did the trick on the fourth ball of the over when he went down on one knee and swatted a boundary to backward point.

Zampa, in reply, kept calm and he promptly outwitted Hales on the last ball of the over with a faster delivery that trapped the opener in front.

It kick-started a memorable night for the T20 World Cup champion.

Stoinis’ return ends comically

After being bowled out for a record low of 61 against Sixers, Stars desperately needed batting reinforcements and Marcus Stoinis, obviously, fitted the bill. He missed the season-opener due to a side stain sustained during his starring role at the T20 World Cup.

Stoinis was watchful early, but it wasn’t long before he displayed his trademark pyrotechnics with consecutive boundaries off Daniel Sams in the fourth over. There was an air of anticipation when Stoinis and fellow T20 World Cup winner Maxwell combined in the middle.

The Stars had at least passed the ignominy of Sunday’s collapse, but were shakily positioned at 3 for 62 at the midpoint.

Russell provides cameo under strict protocols

There was excitement over the BBL return of Russell, a prized late signing having last played in the tournament in 2017 after three seasons with, coincidentally, Thunder and Melbourne Renegades.

They took advantage of an increasingly sloppy Thunder who fell apart through dropped catches and wickets off no-balls.

Russell finally entered the fray in the 18th over and, predictably, swung for the fences. His timing was off but he still clubbed two boundaries and spooked Sams in the final over, who bowled consecutive wides down the leg side on the final delivery.

Russell finished with an unbeaten 17 off 9 balls in a sign of what’s ahead during his five-match stint as he capped off his BBL return with a thrilling victory.

They had searched far and wide for a wicketkeeping option including big-name overseas players. West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran did a short stint with Stars last season but was unable to return. The job is set to fall to Clarke who has kept just 11 times in his six-year professional career, and only five times in T20 cricket, all of which were in this year’s PSL for Karachi Kings.

He kept in one County Championship fixture for Nottinghamshire this year and is predominantly a part-timer behind first-choice Tom Moores but Clarke said he is looking forward to the challenge.

“Obviously my keeping was something that has sort of been on the on the backburner last couple of years,” Clarke said. “I went to Pakistan to play in the Pakistan Super League and was keeping for that. It’s something that I’m looking forward to doing as well over here.”

Clarke will have his hands full keeping to legspinning duo Adam Zampa and Qais Ahmad, but he completed a sharp stumping during one of two practice matches he played in on Tuesday.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with them so far,” Clarke said. “Although obviously [they] didn’t do too much with keeping in their day, [they] just facilitate with me and do the drills that I do back home and stuff like that and just make me feel as best prepared as I can be.”

Hussey has no concerns about Clarke’s batting ability and is keen for him to form a formidable opening partnership with Marcus Stoinis.

“Joe Clarke’s been outstanding for Notts for many a year opening the batting,” Hussey told ESPNcricinfo. “So hopefully they gel very, very quickly and they can open the batting and set a nice foundation for our middle order players.”

The pair gelled nicely in the afternoon practice game on Tuesday at the Junction Oval against Renegades sharing a 95-run opening stand off 11.4 overs. Clarke made 64 off 40 balls as he rounded off his preparation ahead of his second stint in the BBL.

He played three games for Perth Scorchers last summer as an early-season replacement player prior to Jason Roy’s arrival. His 34 off 16 balls against Stars undoubtedly played a part in his recruitment.

“I loved it,” Clarke said. “Obviously I would have loved to have played some more games. But just get a taster for the Big Bash and how the competition goes was actually good fun.”