BBL7 - Melbourne Stars Season Preview
BBL7 MELBOURNE STARS SEASON PREVIEW
BBL6 - 4th, 4 Wins 4 Losses (Lost Semi-Final to Perth Scorchers)
Titles - 0
Semi Finals Appearances - 6/6
Current Squad (Subject to Change) - Michael Beer, Scott Boland, Jackson Coleman, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Seb Gotch, Evan Gulbis, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, John Hastings (c), Ben Hilfenhaus, Glenn Maxwell, Kevin Pietersen (Eng), Rob Quiney, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall, Luke Wright (Eng), Adam Zampa
Notable Ins: Jackson Coleman (Upgrade), Ben Dunk (Strikers)
Notable Outs: David Hussey (retired), Tom Triffitt
Head Coach - Stephen Fleming
SQUAD BREAKDOWN
Overseas Rating - Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright - The Stars, for the 4th straight year, retain highly influential and experienced Englishmen in Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright to spearhead their batting line up. KP has provided outstanding value for the Stars throughout the past three seasons, despite not quite being able to give them that elusive title win. KP again produced in BBL6, finishing with a total of 268 runs for the season, which made him the leading run scorer for the Stars in a season where the team’s batting underperformed at times. Pietersen has 884 runs in three seasons at the Stars, at a strike rate of 130, and will again be looked to from Number 3 to provide big runs and big impact. Fellow Englishman Luke Wright has been at the Stars since BBL1. Wright actually holds the record for most appearances for the Stars with 52, and most runs at 1398, including two hundreds. Scoring 117 in BBL1 and 109* in BBL5 in the derby game at the MCG, his first hundred is the highest score in the history of the BBL. Whilst his form was moderate at times last year, he still managed 262 runs and is a pretty reliable and experienced commodity at the top of the order.
Batting Rating - The Stars quite simply have an awesome batting line up on paper. They are potentially very explosive at the top of the order having added last year’s leading run scorer Ben Dunk to their line up from the Strikers. With the likes of Wright, Quiney, Pietersen and Maxwell as their Top 5 batsmen, you won't find a better or more experienced outfit anywhere in the BBL. Three of those four are proven and experienced T20 players, whilst Quiney had a great season last year scoring 227 runs at an average of 32 and a gigantic strike rate of 167. Where the Stars fell down was the fact their batting wilted away quickly after Number 5. Whilst the likes of Marcus Stoinis and James Faulkner proved disappointing last year, they are both capable of being dynamic in the middle to latter orders given they have played ODI cricket for Australia. The Stars, if they put it all together on the day, are one of the top few batting line ups, for me, capable of scoring close to 200 if they get off to a good start.
Spin Bowling Rating - The Stars are really well served with their spinners like the majority of teams in the BBL. Both Michael Beer and Adam Zampa have done a really solid job for the Stars over the past few years. What I like about both of these guys, outside of their stats, is they are both extremely competitive and like to get in the batsman’s face and get in the contest. That can be key in big moments of big games. Both spinners have played over 60 T20 games, and both go at less than 7 runs per overs, with Zampa more likely to get wickets, whilst Beer often does a good holding job in the early Powerplay inside the first six overs.
Seam Bowling Rating - The Stars for me have one of the top seam bowling attacks in the competition. For me they would rate 2nd as a unit behind the Scorchers in terms of quality depth and variety in their pace bowling ranks, despite not having all big names. I was impressed with both Scott Boland and Ben Hilfenhaus last year as their opening bowlers. Both finished in the Top 7 wickets takers, with Boland 3rd with 14 scalps, and Hilfenhaus equal 4th with 13. Throw in the canny changes of pace and experience of James Faulkner and an emerging Australia ODI all-rounder in Marcus Stoinis, and this attack shouldn't go around the park too often.
INDIVIDUAL BREAKDOWN
THE GUN - Ben Dunk – The unfashionable Ben Dunk has proved a smash hit in BBL cricket and is another massive signing for the Stars, as they look to further bolster their strong batting line up in BBL7. Put simply, Dunk was unstoppable at times last year as he made a mockery of the Hurricanes’ decision to release him, with the Adelaide Strikers picking up the leading run scorer in BBL6. Dunk blasted 364 runs at an average of 52, with an incredible strike rate of 164. From the top of the order, Dunk has the ability to take a game away from the opponents, and the Stars have invested good money in their Salary Cap as he gets a significant pay rise here.
THE SMOKEY - Scott Boland - I thought Scott Boland was a fast bowler that slipped under the radar last year, with his ability to bowl with a bit of fizz and pick up some key wickets. Boland ended up being the third leading wicket taker in BBL6, with 14 scalps at an average of 20. Whilst he goes for 8.4 runs per over, that’s fairly stock standard for a strike fast bowler, and it’s his ability to get wickets that makes him so valuable. I was also impressed by some of the developments in his changeup, with an effective slower ball and good use of short balls in the bigger square boundaries of the MCG.
THE POTENTIAL FLOP - Peter Handscomb - I have opted for Handscomb as his form this summer has been awful in both Shield cricket and the Test side. Handscomb has a pretty disappointing T20 record, averaging 22 from 44 games at a low strike rate of 116. His confidence would be a bit down at the moment, however the BBL could be just the tonic he needs to free him up and forget about his struggles. He is not the most explosive type of batsman in the middle order and, with his technical troubles this summer, you would expect bowlers to keep the ball full to Handscomb and try and frustrate him.
THE CIRCUITER - Marcus Stoinis - There is no doubt the Stars under Eddie McGuire are the high rolling team of the competition, and some of their parties have probably got a few lengths on the other sides in the competition. Having said that, I struggled to find a clear pack leader here - a player who would be at the forefront of everything social this summer. In the end I went for Marcus Stoinis as he has just got that little bit of a strut on him when he enters a cricket field.
THE VERDICT and THE LURKER
THE VERDICT - The Stars are the most consistent side in BBL cricket, and they have made the finals in every single season without claiming the prize. There is no way this side will miss the finals with the amount of international players in their battling line up and the quality of their pace and spin attack. I think they are a decent bet to be Minor Premiers. As far as winning the competition goes they are usually hurt by International call ups, with the likes of Maxwell, Faulkner, Stoinis and Zampa all in line to play for Australia against England on the ODI series starting on January 14. Now that is a good thing and a bad thing, because despite making the Semi-Finals six years running, they are remarkably yet to win a title. Their squad is the most stable one in the game, with just the two changes overall and some high class batsmen especially, as well as having added some huge top-order firepower by luring Ben Dunk away from Adelaide. Dunk was the BBL6 leading run-scorer, and could be the missing piece of the puzzle that finally takes the Melbourne Stars to a BBL title.
THE LURKER - "They love a choke in the finals, the Stars, however this is as good a chance as they have ever had of taking out the title. Will amble into the finals in their sleep and from there they need to produce their best cricket on the day, which they have failed to do in five semi-finals and one grand final. The other thing about this team is they will have the biggest and best circuits planned. Eddie McGuire has a big budget, so expect these blokes to have a social calendar just as big as their cricket one."