After making the knockouts for the first six years of the BBL’s existence, the Melbourne Stars have endured a rough time of it, failing to get out of the group stage for the previous four seasons. They’ll be hoping to put that in the rearview mirror for BBL 2024-25, so to get you ready for the tournament, we’ve taken a look at their squad, fixtures, and history to create your ultimate primer for the Melbourne Stars in BBL 14.
Who is in the Melbourne Stars squad for BBL 2024-25?
The Stars are sweating on the fitness of talismanic all-rounder and captain Glenn Maxwell after he picked up an injury in the final match of Australia’s recent T20I series against Pakistan. Handily, they’ve got another power-packed international all-rounder to look to, with Marcus Stoinis returning for another season with the team.
Overseas reinforcements come in the form of explosive England opener Ben Duckett (who will miss the opening of the tournament due to Test commitments with England, with Joe Clarke backing him up), and two more all-rounders, Tom Curran and Usama Mir. Stalwart Aussie bowlers such as Scott Boland and Joel Paris should give them a strong pace battery as well, and Sam Harper is back with the team after a few years across town with the Renegades.
Batters: Ben Duckett, Tom Rogers, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Harper (wk), Hilton Cartwright
All-rounders: Glenn Maxwell, Usama Mir, Marcus Stoinis, Tom Curran, Beau Webster, Jon Merlo,
Bowlers: Joel Paris, Hamish McKenzie, Scott Boland, Doug Warren, Mark Steketee, Brody Couch
The Stars are coached by former England player and head coach, Peter Moores, who is now in his second year in charge of the team.
When and where do they play their home matches?
The Stars start their campaign on the road, playing in the tournament opener against the Scorchers at Optus Stadium in Perth on December 15. After that, it’s back home to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground – their home ground – for four matches in the group stage:
December 18 vs Brisbane Heat
January 4 vs Melbourne Renegades
January 9 vs Sydney Sixers
January 19 vs Hobart Hurricanes
The Melbourne Stars will also play one “home” match at Manuka Oval in Canberra against the Sydney Thunder on December 28, whilst other away games will be staged in Perth (Dec 15), Adelaide (Dec 20), Sydney (Dec 26), Brisbane (Jan 1), and at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne’s Docklands, for a match against cross-city rivals the Melbourne Renegades on January 12.
How did they do last year?
2023-24 wasn’t the greatest season for the Stars, as they finished sixth out of the eight-team league and comfortably outside the knockout places. Not helped by a poor home record — the Stars won just one of their five home games last season — the only consolation was at least finishing above the Renegades, in an especially bad year for the Melbourne teams.
How many times have Melbourne Stars won the Big Bash League?
If you’re asking this question, you must have the luxury of forgetfulness. Melbourne Stars are one of two teams (along with the Hobart Hurricanes) to have never won the men’s Big Bash League, and even more aggravatingly, they’ve finished as runners-up on three occasions, including in the 2018-19 season when they lost an all-Melbourne final to the Renegades. The MCG has seen its fair share of sporting triumphs, so here’s hoping this is the year the Melbourne Stars can add a BBL title to the trophy room.
How does the BBL format work?
The tournament kicks off with a group stage of eight teams, each playing each other at least once for a total of ten games. After the group stage games are all complete, the top four teams advance to the knockouts, and here’s where it gets a little convoluted.
The top two teams in the league phase will contest the Qualifier match, with the winner advancing directly to the final. The losing team then awaits the winner of the Knockout match (contested between the teams finishing third and fourth in the group), to play the Challenger match — after all that, the winner of the Challenger match advances to the final.
Where can I watch the Stars in the BBL?
There are still tickets available to Stars home games if you’re looking for a last-minute ticket, otherwise you’ll find most of the matches on free-to-air TV with Channel 7. They’ve got the rights to 30 group games, including seven of the ten games the Stars will play. To see all 40 group matches, and every game with the Stars featured, you’ll need a Foxtel or Kayo Sports subscription. All three broadcasters will be carrying the four knockout games when the business end of the tournament arrives.