With Luke Wright joining Kevin Pietersen in making this his final season for the Stars, it shapes as the end of an era for the green side of Melbourne.
It’s been a reasonably successful era too, with five semi-final finishes and one final loss. BBL07 will be the first time this franchise has missed the play-offs.
This means Luke Wright, the brash and burly Englishman, who’s been there since day dot, has done his job. 57 matches, nearly 1500 runs and two memorable centuries; it will be hard to imagine the Stars line-up without him.
But, the Stars have to move on. They have barely changed their squad in the four seasons since Pietersen’s arrival, and that complacency has caught up with them.
Twenty20 cricket moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.
Moving on
Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright
Well played boys, but it’s time for some fresh internationals. As Pietersen said during the Channel Ten coverage, Australia breeds lots of aggressive batsmen. They should instead be targeting a match-winning all-rounder and a top level spinner for their two foreign spots.
(image: AAP)
Time’s up
Evan Gulbis, Rob Quiney, Sam Harper, John Hastings, Ben Hilfenhaus
Yes, the captain’s there. Unfortunately it looks like the Duke, who dominated ODI cricket in 2016 and has always done well for the Stars, is approaching the end.
It’s also a harsh call on Gulbis and Quiney, who have come in more often than not when the national players are called away. Gulbis was particularly good in the final-making season of BBL|05, but the Stars won’t win a BBL title with this squad.
We haven’t seen Hilfy or Harper this season, so time to move them on too.
One more chance
Michael Beer, Scott Boland, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Seb Gotch
The recruitment of Dunk on a multi-year deal was a no-brainer, particularly after leading the run-scoring in BBL06. But he’s been a flop.
Faulkner, who has had more impact with bat than ball this season, looks a completely different player to yesteryear. His slower ball is no longer unique and gets hammered, especially at the death.
Boland and Beer have both also lost their places in the team after getting smacked around early in the tournament, but given their skill sets it’s worth hanging onto them. And Gotch doesn’t get a lot of opportunities, even when the team is going terribly. Give the little bloke a go!
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Keep
Glenn Maxwell, Liam Bowe, Jackson Coleman, Daniel Fallins, Adam Zampa, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Daniel Worrall
We’ve seen enough from this bunch to merit another season. The reasoning behind retaining Bowe and Fallins is because of the trend we’ve seen in BBL this season.
A quality leg-spinner (or two) is invaluable. Get them comfortable at BBL level, and you could have a homegrown hero. Worrall and Coleman swing the new ball and have put up good numbers this season.
Do only eight players out of the current roster of 20 deserve a spot for BBL|08? Maybe it’s harsh, but there are a lot of players on the wrong side of 30. This squad needs some fresh energy and some exciting recruits will do that.
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