Zampa had bowled beautifully as the Stars restricted the Renegades to an unimposing 7/141 in the dusk innings. But Rogers became the home wrecker. He struck his length from the start and with his first legitimate ball of the innings bowled leading Stars runmaker Joe Clarke. In his second over, he took a return catch from state teammate Beau Webster and blasted through his namesake Star Tom Rogers.

When Will Sutherland relieved him, he immediately picked up Marcus Stoinis from a flat-footed slash, and the Stars were 4/16. Rogers returned to have Hilton Cartwright and Luke Wood both caught at mid-wicket to finish with 5/16. “I said that to him at the end of the game: ‘did I fire you up, buddy?’,” Zampa said later.

Spin combo Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Akeal Hosein - one Afghan, one West Indian - maintained the squeeze, using the grip in the pitch to repeatedly beat the outside edge. Off spinner Mujeeb finished with 2/7 from his four overs, in this format figures as startling and improbable as Rogers’. The Stars ran out of batsmen, overs and ideas, and now are running out of matches.

It has to be said that in the whole span of BBL history, the Melbourne clubs are under-achievers. The only title they boast between them is the Renegades’ win over the Stars in 2019.

This contest resembled that final as the Renegades rescued what looked to be lost. Strategically, the Stars had it all over them in the dusk innings. Big-name New Zealand left-armer Trent Boult conceded eight runs to compatriot Martin Guptill from the first three balls of the match, but took 2/15 from his other 21.

Brought back explicitly to deal with Renegades captain Aaron Finch, he sealed the deal instantly with an away-cutter. His other wicket was Shaun Marsh, caught at mid-off.

Webster added a sophisticated touch, bowling medium pace to right-handers and off-spin to left-handers. Three Renegades got to 32, but none any further. It did not help that Marsh appeared to be hampered by a leg injury and so turned twos into ones.

Zampa, having spent out his pacemen to handle the top order, was bold enough to bowl the death overs himself. He finished up with 1/18 from his four overs. But his legitimate and justified attempt to effect the Mankad run-out meant that he left the ground ringing with boos.

“It always feels like something happens in these games that you can talk about for a little while,” Zampa said, “and this is probably going to be it now, isn’t it?”

For the Stars, the Renegades’ 7/141 looked like a molehill. Fifteen balls into their innings, it was a mountain, and soon enough Everest.