The Melbourne Stars have lost both their opening Big Bash League matches largely due to middle-order batting failures.
Although against the Adelaide Strikers they bowled poorly, they were primarily beaten by an outstanding innings from Tim Ludeman, but before then they hadn’t scored enough runs to be competitive. And against the Hobart Hurricanes, chasing an imposing 190, despite a strong start, the Stars lost regular wickets, at times to poor shots, wilting under pressure to fall well short of the target.
A fifty for Cameron White against the Hurricanes and 45 for Luke Wright against the Strikers have twice given the Stars at least something of a start. Kevin Pietersen’s 66 batting at number three against the Strikers was similarly helpful.
However, even having played so little cricket of late, Pietersen’s performance level is mercurial and he will miss the Stars’ next match against the Brisbane Heat on December 28th due to a long-arranged plan to return home to the UK over Christmas. Pietersen’s departure will further unsettle a struggling batting order. He is expected to be replaced at number three by Rob Quiney.
Pietersen’s trip home was only revealed to the public this week and the sagacity of his signing, already questionable considering his salary and form, is surely in even greater doubt now he is causing unnecessary complications. What’s more, the signing of Pietersen was made possible by the release of Brad Hodge to the Adelaide Strikers and Matthew Wade to rivals Melbourne Renegades. Both Wade and Hodge are experienced cricketers with international experience and their absence shortens the Stars order and reduces their squad depth.
Of course, Pietersen has been a match-winner in the past and although he’s short of cricket recently, remains a player who has touched genius in international cricket, but his signing was a risky one and he will need to continue to bat as well as he did in the Stars first match against the Strikers if his transfer and the release of Hodge and Wade is to be justified.
In place of Hodge and Wade, the Stars have batted Glenn Maxwell at four and David Hussey at five, but have also had to elevate James Faulkner’s role in the team. Whereas previously Faulkner would’ve taken on the role as a floating pinch hitter, which is certainly not a bad strategy, he now has greater responsibility to bolster the batting depth, batting as high as number six.
To compound the Stars’ problems first choice wicket keeper Peter Handscomb was ruled out of the entire season with injury just four days before they began their campaign. 24 year-old Tom Triffitt replaced Handscomb in the squad.
When the Stars decided to release Hodge and Wade they’d certainly have been more confident that Maxwell would have been in better form. Since the last BBL season Maxwell has become widely thought of as one of the world’s leading T20 batsmen thanks to some outstanding innings for Australia in the World T20 and Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League.
However, since the middle of the IPL, Maxwell’s form has crashed and he hasn’t passed 43 in 29 T20 innings. 19 times in that period scored less than 15. He was admittedly unlucky to be given out caught behind against the Strikers, but hasn’t looked in good touch in either of his short innings so far.
Hussey is also struggling for form. The world’s third highest T20 run-scorer has scored just one fifty in his last 19 T20 innings and played a deeply unimpressive shot to be dismissed against the Hurricanes. Charging down the pitch to a leg spinner, not getting to the pitch and despite having time to adjust Hussey heaved at a turning ball only to get a thick edge to backward point and be dismissed at a pivotal juncture in the run chase.
Faulkner can be a very effective pinch hitter and death batsman, but to expect him to elevate the Stars to competitive totals alone is asking too much. Meanwhile, new wicket keeper Triffitt struggled alarmingly against the Hurricanes but has had little time to make an impact. Having been rushed in as a replacement it would be unfair to expect too much of him.
Worryingly, there are few alternatives available for the Stars. 22 year-old Alexander Keath and Quiney are the two spare batsmen. Quiney is a talented player who has played Test cricket for Australia and will probably replace Pietersen for the Stars’ next match against the Brisbane Heat, but Keath is an inexperienced player primarily in the squad for development.
It therefore appears that the only obvious change the Stars can make to the batting personnel is to bring Pietersen back in when he returns, but maintain Quiney at the expense of one of the bowlers and ask more bowling of Luke Wright, Hussey and Maxwell. Quiney, a busy but not frightening batsman, could play a floating role, absorbing Faulkner’s responsibility in times of trouble and sliding below him when circumstances demand.
The alternative, more left-field option would be for the Stars to shuffle the batting order, either opening with Quiney or perhaps promoting someone such as Triffitt to a pinch hitting role as opener, not because they’d expect much of anyone they promote there (although it may liberate a young batsman such as Triffitt) but because White could then slide down in between Maxwell and Hussey, bolstering the middle order.
The Stars squad have broken up after their defeat to the Hurricanes on Saturday with Christmas bridging a lengthy gap before their next fixture on December 28th against the Brisbane Heat, who fortunately struggled with the ball against the Sydney Thunder in their first fixture on Sunday.
T20 is a toxic world when poor form and lack of match practice are common place within a batting order, let alone unfortunate injuries and absentees too. And the Stars can adjust, change and shuffle their players as much as they like, but nothing would improve their fortunes faster than a return to form for Glenn Maxwell and David Hussey. The Melbourne Stars’ entire season may depend on it.
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