Fletcher was a member of the West Indies T20 squad that lost three three-match series against New Zealand 2-0. He will replace England’s Jonny Bairstow, who is unavailable due to international duty.
"I'm really looking forward to coming over to the Melbourne Stars and being part of what should be an exciting season ahead," Fletcher said.
“Hopefully, I can bring my brand of batting and recent form to the Stars during the BBL."
Stars head coach David Hussey believes Fletcher’s talents will be an asset to the club.
"We're glad Andre was in a position to join us and he'll bring plenty of power and entertainment at the top of the batting order. Andre is a former T20 World Cup winner with the West Indies so he knows what it takes to succeed in major tournaments and I'm confident he'll be a great asset around our group," Hussey said.
Fletcher brings extensive experience to the Melbourne Stars having played in the Caribbean Premier League, the Bangladesh Premier League, and the Pakistan Super League.
He will join Nicholas Pooran who has also been signed with the club for the coming season.
The 33-year-old allrounder last played in the BBL in 2017 after three seasons with Sydney Thunder. He opens his account for the Stars against the Thunder Friday.
"To have someone of Andre's quality play for the Melbourne Stars is a huge signing for our club," Stars coach David Hussey said. "I can't wait to work with him in the time that he's here and look forward to his debut on Friday night."
Russell arrives in Melbourne in sparkling form. On Sunday, in the final Abu Dhabi T10 League, Russell hit nine fours and seven sixes in a 32-ball unbeaten score of 90 as the Gladiators (159-0) defeated the Delhi Bulls by 56 runs to win the 2021 title.
Cricket Australia confirmed on Sunday that the 34-year-old had fractured his left fibula, with a timeline on his recovery to be known later in the week.
It has been reported that Maxwell sustained the injury at a 50th birthday party on Saturday night, although he was not intoxicated.
The big-hitter has been replaced by Sean Abbott for the upcoming three-game ODI series against England due to commence in Adelaide on Thursday, having been named in Australia's squad on Tuesday.
"Glenn is in good spirits. It was an unfortunate accident and we feel for Glenn in the circumstances given he was in great touch in his last few games," Australia's national selection chair George Bailey said.
"Glenn is a critical part of our white ball structure and we will continue to support him through his recovery and rehabilitation."
Maxwell was part of Australia's squad which missed the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup, scoring 118 runs with a strike rate of 161.64, while taking three wickets with an economy rate of 6.00.
Given the injury, Maxwell, who is the Melbourne Stars captain, appears unlikely to be available for the 2022-23 Big Bash League season.
The Heat started the day on 10 points with two games to play but vaulted into the top five with a 71-run victory clinched with 14 balls to spare at the MCG.
AB de Villiers laid the platform for the Heat with a searing 71 off just 37 balls, helping Brisbane to 186-5.
The table-topping Stars promptly collapsed in response, spinners Mitchell Swepson and Mujeeb Ur Rahman doing the damage for Brisbane as Melbourne were bowled out for 115.
DEVASTATING DE VILLIERS
Veteran De Villiers had not scored a half-century in the BBL going into Saturday's contest, but he changed that fact in emphatic fashion.
The South African cleared the rope six times, with two of his sixes coming in an expensive Clint Hinchcliffe over.
De Villiers' primary support came from Australia international Marnus Labuschagne, who finished unbeaten on a 13-ball 24, the pair combining for a fifth-wicket stand of 70.
STARS PUT IN A SPIN
Marcus Stoinis (17) got the Stars' chase off to a strong start but it proved the first of two false dawns for the Stars, who lost Stoinis and Seb Gotch to James Pattinson in the fourth over.
Peter Handscomb (27) and Nick Larkin (22) appeared to have mounted a recovery with a stand of 36, only for the former to be run out chasing two as Mujeeb and De Villiers combined in the field.
Danger man Glenn Maxwell (1) followed three balls later as he was bowled by Swepson, who struck again to remove Nic Maddinson (9) and then Larkin after Nathan Coulter-Nile had fallen to Mujeeb for a duck.
That left the Stars on 92-7 and the tail never looked like mounting a remarkable recovery.
A TIGHT FINISH
In the fight for the final two playoff places, the Heat join the Scorchers on 12 points and would qualify as it stands, with Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder each a point back with a game to play.
Perth face the Thunder in their finale, while the Hurricanes visit Adelaide Strikers and the Heat face bottom side Melbourne Renegades.
The fight for the top five is going down to the wire.
The Stars are top of the standings after a stunning streak but were dealt just their second defeat of the tournament in a 14-over-a-side contest.
A heavy downpour provided an early disruption, but the Sixers kicked on from there, with Moises Henriques supplying a rapid 72 off just 31.
Sydney's total of 143-4 - adjusted to a target of 147 by the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method - proved beyond Melbourne's reach, Marcus Stoinis' attempted rally - 62 off 37 - proving to be in vain.
RAIN PROMPTS IMPROVEMENT
The Sixers made an unimpressive start with just 16 off the first 19 balls, but rain quickly came teeming down to bring about a reduction in overs.
The batting side were not initially any better following the restart, losing Daniel Hughes (14) and Josh Philippe (10) to Sandeep Lamichhane in the space of three balls in the fifth over.
However, a James Vince (41 not out) partnership with Henriques propelled Sydney in some style, the two combining for a partnership of 114 that included eight maximums from the skipper.
SYDNEY STALL SLIGHTLY
The Sixers' total might still have been more impressive had Henriques and Tom Curran not each departed in the final over.
The prolific Stoinis and Hilton Cartwright started to knock the ball around in the Stars' third over, scoring 22 with a four and a six apiece.
Cartwright went with the next ball, and the scoring slowed with Nathan Lyon initially economical, but Stoinis remained in the middle.
LYON GETS HIS MAN
Requiring 54 from the final three overs, it appeared Stoinis was determined to maintain Melbourne's outstanding run single-handedly.
He hit 16 off the next three balls from Lyon, only to then hole out to Henriques, giving the Stars a mountain to climb.
Curran took the wickets of Nick Larkin and Glenn Maxwell (12) with consecutive balls in the final over, and Sydney were ultimately comfortable.
The 30-year-old, brought in for Renegades’ final two games of their underwhelming Big Bash League campaign, finished with two for 18 from four overs after being handed the new ball, helping to restrict Stars to 137 for eight off their 20 overs at Docklands Stadium.
Opener Shaun Marsh then struck an unbeaten 64 off 49 deliveries as Renegades chased down their target with 16 balls to spare, to post their first win in three games.
Choosing to bowl, Renegades reduced 37 for two inside the power-play, Hosein sending down the second over which cost just eight runs.
Hilton Cartwright, who top-scored with 38 from 30 balls, then held the innings together, first in a 31-run, fifth-wicket stand with Beau Webster (29) and then in a 27-run, sixth-wicket partnership with Imad Wasim (14).
Hosein knocked over Marcus Stoinis for two in the ninth over before accounting for Webster at the start of the 15th.
In reply, Marsh struck ten fours in engineering a 68-run, second-wicket partnership with Jake Fraser-McGurk (42) and a 46-run, unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Jonathan Wells (14 not out), to see Renegades comfortably home.
The Stars have won nine of their 10 matches in this season's competition and sit in a commanding position after Wednesday's straightforward triumph in Perth.
Hosts the Scorchers won the toss and batted first having come into the contest on a three-game winning streak but tumbled to a shambolic 86 all out in only 13.5 overs.
And the Stars encountered few problems in reaching their moderate target, winning with eight overs to spare as the in-form Marcus Stoinis (39 not out) got them home at a canter.
INGLIS GOOD, TEAM-MATES TERRIBLE
Josh Inglis scored 37 runs off 19 balls with two maximums to give Scorchers a swift start but Cameron Bancroft (10) was the only other player to reach double figures.
Perth were moving along nicely at 39-1 after 23 deliveries, Liam Livingstone (4) the only man to have fallen courtesy of a wonderful Stoinis catch off the bowling of Nathan Coulter-Nile.
But Cameron Green (4) was impressively run out by Haris Rauf (1-23) and Inglis' decent knock ended tamely when he picked out Nick Larkin at mid-off.
That reduced the Scorchers to 48-3 and it got worse from there, captain Mitchell Marsh (7) falling after a fine catch from Daniel Worrall off the bowling of Jackson Coleman, who lead the Stars with three wickets for just 16 runs on his first BBL outing this season.
Bancroft fell in another runout and Nepalese spinner Sandeep Lamichhane (2-7) took wickets from consecutive deliveries to help clean up the tail.
STOINIS KEEPS UP MOMENTUM
Stoinis led a comfortable run chase for the Stars, three days on from his stunning record-breaking century against the Sydney Sixers.
Marsh (1-25) held a return catch to remove Hilton Cartwright and Ben Dunk fell to Fawad Ahmed (1-25) but by that point the leaders already had 56 on the board.
Stoinis, who passed 500 runs for the BBL campaign, hit six fours in a controlled 31-ball innings and sealed the victory with a flick behind square to the fence, with Seb Gotch the other unbeaten batsman on 14.
Defeat left the Scorchers fourth, one point clear of the Adelaide Strikers, who have a game in hand, and the Sydney Thunder.
The gifted all-rounder, nicknamed the 'Big Show', made an unbeaten 83 off only 45 balls at Marvel Stadium as the table-topping Stars chased down a target of 169 with eight balls to spare.
Such an outcome looked unlikely when the Stars needed 60 off the final five overs, with defending champions the Renegades scenting an opportunity to break their duck at the eighth attempt.
But Maxwell smashed his second consecutive half-century to put his side two points clear of the Sydney Sixers and give another nudge to the Australia selectors after being omitted for the ODI series in India.
Shaun Marsh earlier made a 43-ball 63 but the beleaguered Renegades lost four wickets for just 22 runs in their final four overs and a total of 168-7 was not enough.
RAUF AND COULTER-NILE STOP GADES IN THEIR TRACKS
Marsh needed a new bat after a ferocious delivery from Lance Morris snapped his blade in two, but he flanked the Gades' innings in a knock that included seven fours and two sixes.
The Gades were well placed at 146-3 through 16 overs, only to have their momentum stemmed.
Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-29) ensured Tom Cooper (15) could not build on a start and sent Sam Harper back for a golden duck, while Haris Rauf conceded just eight runs from his final two overs and accounted for Dan Christian (12).
MARVELLOUS MAXWELL SHINES FOR STARS
The Renegades made a poor start when Marcus Stoinis – the BBL's top run-scorer this season – holed out to long-off off Samit Patel for a three-ball duck.
Hilton Cartwright (35) was stopped in his tracks by Cameron Boyce and the Stars were facing a tall order to get over the finishing line.
But Maxwell kept his cool before finishing with a flourish, hitting a couple of huge sixes off Joe Mennie and Boyce before giving Richard Gleeson the treatment from consecutive deliveries in the 18th over.
A 91-metre six off Christian preceded another whack beyond the ropes over deep square leg to seal victory in style, having cleared the rope seven times in a swashbuckling innings.
Adam Zampa’s five-wicket haul was also instrumental to the Stars victory that moved them up to sixth in the Big Bash League table.
The Grenadian whose best score before Thursday was 18 against the Thunder on December 29, blasted an unbeaten 89 as the Stars racked up 179 for 2 in their 20 overs. The Spiceman smashed eight fours and four sixes in his 49-ball knock.
His 50 had come up from just 36 balls and included four fours and a six.
He featured in partnerships of 41 with fellow opener Marcus Stoinis (13); 61 with Glen Maxwell (39), and 77 with Hilton Cartwright, who remained unbeaten on 30 at the end.
Cameron Valente and Danny Briggs were the best of the Adelaide bowlers each returning figures of 1 for 36 from their respective four-over allotments.
Adelaide needing 180 to win, slumped to 68 all out in just 14.2 overs as Zampa took 5 for 17, Glen Maxwell, 2-12 and Zahir Khan 2-19 to seal the comprehensive victory.
Matt Renshaw (20), Johnathan Wells (18) and Jake Weatherald (10) were the only Adelaide batsmen to get to double figures.
Chasing a target of 152, the Stars were in a spot of trouble on 83-4 after losing the wickets of opener Marcus Stoinis for 31 and Captain Glen Maxwell to consecutive deliveries from Tanveer Sangha (2-20).
The powerfully built Jamaican successfully navigated Sangha’s hat-trick ball and then set about smashing a four and five sixes to guide his side to victory with 17 balls to spare.
Russell didn’t do it all by himself, though, as Hilton Cartwright contributed to the rearguard effort with 23 from just 13 balls as the Stars raced to 155-4. Together, he and Russell posted 72 from just 34 balls that saw the Stars pick up four valuable points.
In leading his side to victory, Russell also made up for the 38 runs he conceded from his four overs as the Thunder made 151-5.
Led by some lower-order hitting from Alex Ross who cleared the boundary on four occasions and hit the ropes another four times in his score of 77 that rescued the Thunder after Qais Ahmed (2-17), Brody Couch (2-26) and Maxwell (1-7) had reduced the Thunder to 65-4 by the 12th over.
Ross and Daniel Sams, the latter playing his part in the recovery scoring 22 from 18 balls, put on 84 from 48 balls before Sams was dismissed on the penultimate ball of the innings.
The Melbourne Stars all-rounder edged out Sydney Sixers paceman Tom Curran by two votes, with the winner decided by a ballot among the umpires at the end of the 56 regular season matches.
Stoinis' 26 votes put him three clear of third-placed Alex Hales, who will be in action when Sydney Thunder face the Stars in Thursday's BBL challenger clash. The Sixers await in the final.
"I'm honoured to have been voted as the 2019-20 KFC Big Bash League Player of the Tournament," said Australia international Stoinis.
"I love playing for Melbourne Stars. This team is special to me and I love having the opportunity to run out onto the field with them.
"We've got a big match against the Sydney Thunder on Thursday night and I hope to see our Team Green fans at the MCG to help get us over the line."
Stoinis went past 600 runs this season, becoming only the second player to do so in a single campaign.
He made history with his record-breaking knock of 147 not out against the Sixers in January, when he also shared a BBL all-time best 207-run opening stand with Hilton Cartwright.
The Stars finished as runners-up in 2019, losing in the final to Melbourne Renegades.
The Stars first posted 144-5 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Renegades.
Captain Meg Lanning, who recently retired from international cricket, top scored with 67 from 49 balls and got good support from Annabel Sutherland who hit 24 and Alice Capsey who made 23.
Sarah Coyte took 2-32 from four overs for the Renegades.
The Renegades then fell agonizingly short of their target reaching 140-6 off their 20 overs.
Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with 37 while Tammy Beaumont got 33 and Matthews got her highest score of the season with 32, just her second time going over 30.
Sutherland completed an excellent all-round game with 4-22 from her four overs to be named player of the match.
Bushfires are raging across Australia, with New South Wales and Victoria greatly affected.
The nation's sportspeople are rallying to help those impacted, with Brisbane Heat star Lynn and the Melbourne Stars' Maxwell offering their help.
"Hey guys, for every six I hit in this year's Big Bash League I will donate $250 towards the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal," Lynn wrote on Twitter on Friday.
"It is special to see so many athletes from various sports getting in behind the real heroes who are fighting to save lives and properties around our country."
Maxwell wrote: "Love it Lynny!! I'll match you on $250 per six I hit in this year's BBL.
"Great cause which is helping so many people around the country who are doing it tough right now."
Maxwell and Lynn are two of the BBL's biggest hitters and have tallied nine and 12 sixes respectively so far this season.
It comes as tennis star Nick Kyrgios vowed to donate 200 Australian dollars for every ace he hits during the summer Down Under.
Illawarra Hawks star LaMelo Ball, meanwhile, pledged to donate a month of his NBL salary to help victims.
Pooran had a solid season with the Kings XI Punjab in the just concluded IPL where he scored 353 runs and averaged a healthy 35.30. He scored two 50s in his 14 innings and hit 23 fours and 25 sixes. His overall stroke play also impressed pundits during the IPL.
“Nick is an impressive player with some big gears who has been in demand in the IPL, the Caribbean Premier League and Pakistan Super League in addition to his West Indies duties for some time. I’m looking forward to having his talents on our side this season,” Hussey said on news the acquisition of Pooran’s skills for the season.
The 25-year-old left-hander will play six matches in the BBL between December and early January 2021 as he will be on duty for the West Indies for at least three T20 Internationals against New Zealand beginning on November 27 at Eden Park.
He says he can’t wait to get going for the Stars.
“The Melbourne Stars have a very strong team and I’m happy I can be part of that for a few matches this season,” Pooran said.
“I’m also excited to be part of the BBL and heard many good things from Glenn Maxwell. I will keep playing my natural game for the team and hope it helps get the Stars some positive results.”
The in-form Stars moved top of the Big Bash League table, level on points with Sydney Sixers with a better net run rate and a game in hand, by securing a fourth consecutive victory on Wednesday.
Pakistani paceman Rauf claimed the second Big Bash hat-trick of the day after Rashid Khan took three in three during the Adelaide Strikers' defeat to Sydney Sixers.
The Thunder were restricted to 145-5 after a brilliant final over from Rauf (3-23), Matthew Gilkes top scoring with 41 from 35 balls.
Marcus Stoinis (50) struck a third consecutive half-century, while Maxwell made an unbeaten 59 from just 37 balls to replace Luke Wright as the Stars' leading run-scorer to get his side home with more than two overs to spare.
Defeat for the Thunder was their second in a row and dropped them down a place to fourth on a day in which spinner Chris Green was banned from bowling for three months due to an illegal delivery action.
RAPID RAUF ROCKS THUNDER
Rauf has been a revelation for the Stars since being plucked from grade cricket in Hobart as cover for Dale Steyn.
The quick could be returning to Australia for the T20 World Cup later this year after he took his tally of wickets to 13 in four matches in dramatic fashion.
Rauf saw the back of Gilkes, who struck two sixes, with the second ball of the last over and Callum Ferguson played on to the next delivery before Daniel Sams was trapped lbw on the hat-trick ball.
SENSATIONAL STOINIS CONTINUES PURPLE PATCH
Stoinis maintained his outstanding form to move over the 300-run mark for the tournament.
The leading run-scorer in the 2019-20 competition had a touch of fortune when he was given not out after being rapped on the pad by Chris Tremain in the third over.
Stoinis took advantage by anchoring the run chase, hitting a six and another four boundaries before holing out off Jonathan Cook, leaving the Stars 103-4 in the 14th.
MAGNIFICENT MAXWELL EASES STARS HOME
Captain Maxwell took only 29 balls to score his first half-century of the tournament.
The all-rounder, who also conceded just 18 runs from three overs, found the rope eight times and launched Tremain for six to keep the Stars on course for victory.
Maxwell was on the deck after trying to clatter Morris and making no contact, but he hit the South Africa bowler for a glorious boundary to finish off the job in the same over.
An eight-wicket trouncing in front of a crowd of 54,478 on Saturday reflected the changing fortunes of these teams since they met at nearby Docklands Stadium in the title match 11 months ago.
Michael Klinger's Renegades have gone into reverse gear this season and this was a sixth straight defeat for the defending champions, who are proving to be a shadow of the side led by Andrew McDonald last season.
The Stars have soared to the top of the table with five wins in six games for David Hussey's side, who scythed down the Renegades from 117-2 to their eventual 142-9 total.
Shaun Marsh and Beau Webster looked like lifting the Renegades to a substantial total as their third-wicket partnership reached 62.
Yet Marsh's dismissal for 43 to a brilliant boundary catch, Ben Dunk tossing the ball back to Nathan Coulter-Nile, off Sandeep Lamichhane's leg spin triggered a collapse, with Dan Christian stumped for a golden duck and Webster also soon back in the dressing room.
Marcus Stoinis anchored the Stars response with an unbeaten 68 from the top of the order to becoming the leading scorer in the competition, with skipper Glenn Maxwell plundering a snappy 40 not out as the Renegades attack sorely lacked bite.
Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Hurricanes romped to 180 for six with opener Ben McDermott top-scoring with 67 off 43 balls and captain Matthew Wade chipping in with 39 from 27 balls.
Russell was expensive at the start of his spell but pulled it back to finish with figures of 3-48 from his four overs.
Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile took 2 for 22 from his four overs.
Russell’s Stars were then limited to 156 for nine off their 20 overs despite Joe Clarke’s 52 and Hilton Cartwright’s 26 with Russell managing only 12.
Pacers Riley Meredith and Tom Rogers each took three wickets for the Hurricanes.
With three defeats in their first five outings, the Stars are now one from the bottom of the eight-team standings on seven points, while Hurricanes now lie third on ten points, seven adrift of leaders Perth Scorchers.
The Stars topped the regular-season table but were battered by Sydney Sixers in last week's Qualifier.
However, they will get a shot at redemption in Saturday's showpiece after winning the Challenger on home turf at the MCG with Stoinis and man of the match Larkin each hammering 83 in an imposing score of 194-2.
Stoinis' knock saw him break the record for the most runs in a single BBL season and, despite Alex Ross putting on 45 and 58 with Chris Morris and Arjun Nair, the Thunder could only muster 166-8 in reply with Haris Rauf (3-17), Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-29) and Adam Zampa (2-43) doing the damage.
STOINIS AND LARKIN MAKE THUNDER TOIL
It has been a BBL season to remember for Stoinis, whose 695 runs so far betters the 637 accumulated by D'Arcy Short last term.
There were seven fours and three sixes from the Australia limited-overs international from his 54 balls, and he made the most of being dropped down the leg side by Jay Lenton.
While Stoinis was eventually bowled by Morris, Larkin was unbeaten come the end of a brutal 49-ball knock in which he clubbed three straight over the ropes and recorded another nine fours.
RAUF AND CO. FINISH THE JOB
The Thunder had already seen dangerman Alex Hales (8) run out and Usman Khawaja (23 off 15) bowled by Coulter-Nile after a promising start by the time Rauf tempted captain Callum Ferguson (7) into a misguided waft that sailed to wicketkeeper Seb Gotch.
Needing partnerships, Ross – whose knock of 58 included three fours and as many sixes – was combining well with Morris before the latter was bowled by the brilliant Rauf.
The writing was on the wall even before Ross and Nair each fell to Zampa in the 17th over and Rauf claimed one more for his personal tally from the final set of six when Lenton picked out Nic Maddinson at deep midwicket.
Heavy rainfall had threatened to wash out the game at the SCG on Saturday, but the conditions eased and there was enough time for a 12-over match in which the Sixers came out on top.
The hosts – champions in the inaugural 2011-12 campaign – were in trouble at 68-4 but Philippe smashed 52 off 29 balls to guide them to 116-5, Adam Zampa finally removing the opener with the final delivery of the innings.
Despite possessing explosive batsmen Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell in their ranks, the Stars did not get firing until Nick Larkin and Nathan Coulter-Nile put on an unbroken 43-run stand for the seventh wicket.
However, spinners Nathan Lyon (2-19) and Steve O'Keefe (2-27) took two wickets apiece, while Josh Hazlewood and Ben Dwarshuis kept the run rate down as the Stars suffered a third final defeat.
A STRONG START
James Vince made just two off nine deliveries before picking out mid-on off Daniel Worrall, but Steve Smith (21) ensured the Sixers stayed on track after Maxwell put the Stars in.
Smith and Philippe took the fight to the Stars and the latter claimed four fours and three maximums to score his third fifty in four BBL games.
Although captain Moises Henriques fell for seven and Maxwell removed Daniel Hughes for a golden duck, Philippe established a 48-run stand with Jordan Silk (27 not out) to set what looked to be a par score.
HISTORY REPEATING?
When the teams met in the qualifier, the Sixers bowled the Stars out for the lowest score in their history – just 99.
There must have been a sense of deja vu when they slumped to 25-4 after 4.1 overs, with key batsmen Stoinis and Maxwell departing early.
Stoinis was the highest-scoring player in the BBL this year and plundered a record 147 when the teams first met this season, but he made just 10 before holing out to deep midwicket off Lyon and O'Keefe snared Maxwell lbw to leave the Stars in dire straits.
STARS BURNT OUT
Smith run out Peter Handscomb – off O'Keefe to leave the Stars 54-6.
Despite the impressive efforts of Larkin, who hit two fours and as many sixes in an unbeaten 38, and Coulter-Nile, the visitors were unable to come back from the early setbacks and fell to a resounding defeat.
The Stars finished top of the table but suffered three straight defeats at the end of the regular season, while the Sixers – who will now get to host the final – won as many on the spin heading into the match.
It was a contest that followed the form book, with Steve O'Keefe (2-22), Sean Abbott (3-23) and Josh Hazlewood (2-14) impressing, while Nathan Lyon and Ben Dwarshuis each took a wicket.
Only three Stars batsmen made double figures at the MCG in a poor chase in reply to the Sixers' 142-7, which looked well under par with Josh Philippe's 34 the highest knock of a low-scoring affair.
The Stars, whose score represents their lowest in the BBL, have another chance to make the final and will meet the winners of Saturday's match between Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder.
STARS INITIALLY STEM SIXERS
What will disappoint the hosts the most is how they failed to build on an excellent showing in the field.
Philippe found the boundary four times before being caught-and-bowled by Haris Rauf an over after opening partner James Vince (12) fell to the impressive Adam Zampa (3-21).
Moises Henriques and Steve Smith put on 40 for the third wicket before the latter was given caught behind off Zampa despite believing he had not hit the ball.
From there the Sixers failed to build any partnerships of note. It meant a huge effort would be needed with the ball…
MELBOURNE LEFT SEEING STARS
Things started badly for Melbourne with Marcus Stoinis (5), Nick Larkin (4) and Peter Handscomb (4) falling inside five overs.
It did not get any better for the home side as Nic Maddinson (16) top-edged to short third man and the gleeful hands of O'Keefe, who quickly came to the fore.
O'Keefe first forced Seb Gotch to drag on before snaring the huge wicket of Glenn Maxwell (16), who was too straight with his attempt to clear long-off.
The wickets then fell with regularity and Daniel Worrall and Rauf fell off consecutive deliveries from Abbott to wrap up the win with 12 balls to spare.
