Team: Melbourne Stars
City: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ground: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Number of Titles: 0
Who Are the Melbourne Stars?
The Melbourne Stars are one of the most popular teams in BBL. Formed in 2011 to play in the inaugural BBL, the franchise is one of two Melbourne, Victoria based sides. They have a green-coloured kit and play their home matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (also known as the MCG or “the G”), which has an enormous capacity of more than 100,024. The team is currently coached by former Australian batsmen David Hussey and captained by current Australian player and, in his own right, a global T20 superstar Glenn Maxwell.
The Stars are one of the most consistent and popular teams in the IPL. However, they have not been able to win the BBL which is extremely surprising considering they have reached the semi-finals or better in 8 out the 11 BBL tournaments. This has led them to attain a reputation of being ‘chokers’ or serial bridesmaids.
The Stars’ consistent success and popularity has created strong rivalries with other teams. Including with the Perth Scorchers due to some tight final’s encounters and with either of the two Sydney based franchises because of the general city/state rivalry between Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne, Victoria.
But it is the Melbourne derby that draws the most attention. They magnitude of the rivalry was exemplified in BBL05 during the first leg of the two derbies at the MCG, which drew in an incredible crowd of 80,833 which is the highest crowd for any domestic cricket match ever in the history of the sport. It is a rivalry that the Stars have dominated, winning 15 of the 22 matches between the sides.
The Stars have always maintained strong squads of the years. A backbone of strong Australian players like recent World T20 world cup winners, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Adam Zampa. The Australian players have been supplemented with international cricket legends, including, Englishmen Kevin Pietersen, Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga, and big hitting West Indian Andre Russell.
The BBL History of Melbourne Stars
As previously mentioned, the Stars have been extremely consistent over the years. For the first 6 years of the BBL, the Stars reached the semi-final (or better) every year without fail. The 2013-14 was a standout year for them as they managed to go unbeaten in the group stages winning all 8 of their games. However, their magic run came to an end in the semi-finals where they lost to the Hobart Hurricanes by 7 wickets.
A couple of years later they went one better, reaching their first ever BBL final in BBL05. However, they were unfortunately beaten by a strong Sydney Thunder side losing by 3 wickets. Another semi-final loss in BBL06, was followed by the worst Stars season on record, as they finished the group stages in last place and therefore failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history.
The Melbourne Stars turned it around in the next two years in BBL08 and BBL09 as they reached the final for the 2nd and then the 3rd time. However, once again, found themselves on the losing side in both finals. Losing the BBL08 final to Melbourne rivals the Melbourne Renegades by just 13 runs and then losing to the Sydney Sixers in a rain affected game in BBL09.
Following the heartbreak in those seasons, the Stars have failed to make it past the group stages in the last 2 seasons as they now face their biggest drop in form in the franchise’s history.
Who Holds the Melbourne Stars Records?
The two players who have dominated the Stars’ batting over the years is Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. Glenn Maxwell, a constructive three-hundred and sixty degree batsmen, has the most runs for the franchise with 2,549 in 89 innings, and overall sits in 4th for all-time leading run scorers in the BBL. Marcus Stoinis, a brute force batsmen, also has a brilliant record for the Stars, being their second highest run scorer with 2,297 runs from 77 innings.
Together, both men also hold the records for 1st and 2nd most runs scored in an individual innings. Glen Maxwell in 1st scoring 154 not out of 64 balls in BBL11 against the Hobart Hurricanes. Marcus Stoinis in 2nd, scoring 147 not out of 79 balls against the Sydney Sixers in BBL09.
There is one bowler who stands out from the rest for the Stars, that being, current Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa. Zampa has taken 82 wickets in 67 matches between 2015 and 2022 and is one of the best limited-overs bowlers in the world. His has best figures of 5 wickets for 17 runs, but this is bettered by Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga who took 6 wickets for just 7 runs against the Perth Scorchers in 2012 and they remain the best match figures in the history of the BBL.
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