Melbourne Renegades 166 for 7 (Maddinson 87, Russell 35, Kuhnemann 3-32) beat Brisbane Heat 144 for 6 (Peirson 43, Munro 35, Hosein 3-15) by 22 runs

Maddinson got out of the blocks quickly, kept his cool when four wickets fell in a clump, and put his foot down again late to lift the Renegades to 7 for 166 batting first in Cairns after being sent in.

Hossein was playing his first game in the BBL and was the dominant bowler on the night to give Renegades a great start to the new campaign after finishing bottom of the ladder last season.

Heat recruit Colin Munro (35 off 30 balls), with 65 T20 internationals to his credit for New Zealand, was finding top form with the bat before he was run out by a direct hit from Tom Rogers.

Maddinson earlier set the platform for victory. He took 20 off Xavier Bartlett's second over and a further 22 off his third in a 49-ball innings, including 10 fours and three sixes, that produced his highest score in T20 cricket. Andre Russell (35 off 28 balls) celebrated his return to Renegades with a powerhouse innings including three sixes.

The visitors rocketed to 0 for 65 off six overs before Sam Harper was well caught at fine leg by Josh Brown off the first delivery bowled by the impressive James Bazley.

Renegades lost 4 for 13 in four overs due to some shrewd captaincy by Peirson and smart bowling by spinners Mitch Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann. Swepson knocked over Jake Fraser-McGurk with a classic googly. Then Kuhnemann took two wickets in one over by slowing down his pace and bamboozling Aaron Finch and off-season recruit Jono Wells.

That was when Maddinson and Russell took control in a 78-run stand off 46 deliveries. Maddinson, when on 42, was involved in a bizarre incident when he played a pull-shot off Mark Steketee.

The ball lobbed over the stumps but one bail came off. On review it was clear that the dislodged bail was an unexplainable mystery but no fault of the batter.