Coulter-Nile has IPL-winning experience while Maxwell, Stoinis and Zampa come into this season having just won the T20 World Cup, and Clarke has won Blast titles with Nottinghamshire.Ī tough opening match against Sydney Sixers on Sunday will provide a good indication of where this current Stars outfit are at, but they appear to have plenty going for them with a strong, balanced squad and enough world-class match-winners to provide that bit of magic when needed. I’m struggling to find too many weaknesses and though those two aforementioned final losses came when failing to chase down relatively modest scores, I don't think this side is as soft as it once was. Nathan Coulter-Nile’s fitness is never a given, but he remains a class act when on the park, while Billy Stanlake offers genuine pace and Liam Hatcher's death bowling was generally reliable last term. The seam bowling also ticks plenty of boxes. Hilton Cartwright’s power is always an asset at the death, too. Forget the chopping and changing that had dogged his Australian career Maxwell bats at four for the Stars and invariably produces.įormer Australia Test opener Joe Burns is another shrewd signing and his performances for Brisbane Heat in recent years suggest he could slot in anywhere from one to five in the batting order and contribute. Zampa was one of the key performers in Australia’s recent T20 World Cup success and his stock hasn't been any higher than it is right now, a comment which also applies to Maxwell, who enjoyed a brilliant time of it in the Indian Premier League when afforded the same continuity that has served him so well in this team. Like the Clarke/Stoinis partnership with the bat, the prospect of Ahmad and Zampa bowling together will surely excite Stars fans. His opening partnership with the equally destructive Stoinis certainly whets the appetite, while wrist spinner Qais Ahmad was a revelation for Kent in the same competition and has previous experience of this tournament from his time with Hobart Hurricanes. In comes Englishman Joe Clarke who struck at 180.55 when making 408 runs in last summer’s Vitality Blast. On paper at least, they look a significantly stronger side. While three consecutive losses at the death saw the Stars miss out on the play-offs last season, I thought there were plenty of positives to take from that campaign and, crucially, they’ve recruited really well ahead of this year. But these are reliable and dependable performers who are part of the Stars furniture now, players who know and understand their roles just like everyone else in the squad.
Of course, they do have star performers, Maxwell himself among them along with Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa.
That didn’t always breed the best team, though, and when the Stars made back-to-back finals in the 020 editions, they were carried by a stronger all-round line-up that wasn’t devoid of internationals but relied on more than a single big name to win a match. The Stars have rarely entered a Big Bash season without a host of star names in their squad – the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Shane Warne in the early years and even Dale Steyn more recently. MELBOURNE STARS have been close to Big Bash glory on a number of occasions already, and the Glenn Maxwell-led outfit can finally break their trophy duck at the 11th time of asking.
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