The mighty Melbourne Stars hey? What a mess they’ve become.

The Big Bash franchise that started with more promise than any other, a squad of legends in their prime playing at full intensity every ball is now a powerless graveyard of drifting journeymen, unproven kids and a sprinkle of cursory, desultory senior players just going through the motions.

In the formative years of the BBL, the Melbourne Stars boasted some of the greatest players the Australian domestic cricket scene has ever seen.

Namely Cameron White, Luke Wright, Dave Hussey, Adam Voges, Brad Hodge, Kevin Pietersen, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Rob Quiney, John Hastings, James Faulkner, Clint McKay, Peter Siddle, Scott Boland, Jackson Bird, James Pattinson, Lasith Malinga, Dan Worrall, Jon Holland and Shane Warne.

Even with that group of champions the Stars somehow failed to secure a BBL title, but they were a force to be reckoned with, making the semi finals or better in eight of the first nine BBL seasons, always exciting the masses and commanding respect from fans of the T20 format worldwide.

Now they are a shadow of their former selves, constantly languishing at the foot of the table with a mere twelve wins from their past 35 matches.

This season they are without their superstar skipper and all-time leading run-scorer Glenn Maxwell due to an untimely freak accident that saw him break his leg at a mate’s party in November.

He is being sorely missed and his absence is exposing this list for where it has degenerated to.

Englishman Joe Clarke has performed brilliantly as the mainstay international signing throughout the past few seasons, both opening the batting and wicketkeeping with admirable aplomb.

He is comfortably leading the runscoring for Team Green in BBL12.

The other senior players however – Marcus Stoinis and stand-in skipper Adam Zampa – despite many brilliant performances in the past few years have been somewhat underwhelming this season in their attempts to lead the team in the absence of Maxi.

To be fair to Zoinis, they shouldn’t have to do everything, but in the circumstances of this season, like it or not they must.

Seemingly the only way for the Stars to win games is if Clarke, Zampa and Stoinis all perform well on the same night – as they did in both of their wins, against the Strikers on New Years Eve and against the Hurricanes in early December.

Zampa bowled beautifully in the opening two games claiming 5/54 from his eight overs, but his 20 overs since have gone for 3/138.

Stoinis’ swashbuckling 74 effectively won the game against the Strikers but in the other five matches he’s played this season he’s averaging four with the bat.

Clarke’s 101 not out against the Hurricanes and 42 against the Strikers have led the Stars to both of their wins but he’s averaged 17 from his other five matches.

Sadly the heavy reliance upon these three means there is constant pressure on them to carry this team to victory in every fixture.

The burden that these guys must feel on their shoulders would be immense, if they don’t fire the Stars lose.

 

So who else is attempting to share the heavy load that these three unrelentingly bear?

The other English import in the squad Luke Wood – the Stars’ latest international signing – has consistently held up his end with the ball this season, his miserly power-play overs and tight death bowling have contributed to him leading the wicket tally for the Stars in BBL12.

New South Welshmen Nick Larkin and Liam Hatcher are fringe players in the Sheffield Shield but are vital cogs for the Stars, they are always up for the fight and are consistently determined, grinding their way through games and regularly impacting as well their abilities allow them to.

Any cricketer would love to have these three on their team as their application towards getting the best out of themselves for the duration of a contest is outstanding, however none are world-beaters or the match-winners that can propel the Stars to contend for that elusive BBL title.

WA’s Hilton Cartwright and Tasmania’s Beau Webster are both extremely capable allrounders with enough experience to take ownership of major roles within the team.

Both are powerful heavy hitters that can whack a long ball and can also roll down some military medium pacers to hold up an end, however both are part time bowlers and part time batters.

They are hit or miss and heavy reliance on them to be regular match-winners is fraught with danger.

Left-arm swinger Trent Boult was the big signing of the off-season and the New Zealand great has provided a cool head for Zampa to lean on.

He is well beyond his best but still has plenty to offer, his performances replacing the four over spells previously allotted to Pakistani speedster Haris Rauf have been more solid than spectacular.

That’s where the regular contributions cease.

By my count that’s three world-class performers and six reliable roleplayers available for selection.

Unfortunately that’s not enough to be consistently competitive in this competition and in this observer’s opinion the rest of the squad is either over the hill or unproven at this level.

The Stars franchise has been forever exposed as a faltering over-promiser and under-deliverer, and seemingly that pattern is getting uglier as the years have rolled on and as the squad has become less competitive.

Is the drop off in their squad’s capacity to compete a reflection of the colloquially notioned overall decline of the BBL?

Or is it just a reflection of the Stars’ torpid apathy towards being the best team they can be?

I’d suggest the latter.

The four-time champions Perth Scorchers have been the dominant force in almost every season since the competition’s inception – only twice have they finished lower than fifth, and the three-time champions the Sydney Sixers are always thereabouts as a consistently competitive franchise – also finishing fifth or better in all bar two of the BBL seasons.

Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder started BBL01 with the weakest squads but have built their cultures through consistent effort and have created dynamic squads with savvy list management.

Their unwillingness to accept anything less than forging their organisations towards being consistently competitive has been highly commendable.

Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes have always fluctuated up and down the BBL table but have maintained core groups of home-grown talent with a collective endeavour to have a genuine dip year-in-year-out.

Lastly the Melbourne Renegades who were always seen as weaker sibling of the Stars are now growing into a formidable unit, and despite their low finishes on the table in recent years they have beat up on the Stars when it’s really mattered, most notably in the 2019 Final when the Stars coughed up the trophy to their arch-rivals from an almost unloseable position.

Last night the failings of the Stars’ methods were laid bare for all to see.

A cocky decision to bowl first in a season that results have leant towards the team with runs on the board (16/27 matches this season have been won by the team batting first) was the first mistake.

The next errors came from Trent Boult’s pedestrian opening spell as he threw down a bunch of medium-paced half volleys on leg stump, allowing an out of form old bull Martin Guptill and a hobbling old bull Shaun Marsh to edge and nudge and nurdle their way to a half-decent base to build their innings on.

Then Nathan Coulter-Nile and Beau Webster floated a few late Christmas presents into the hitting slot for gritty competitors Mack Harvey and Jon Wells to eek out a handy, if not slightly under par total for the Renegades.

The Stars could’ve bowled and fielded better, but nonetheless they were chasing a very attainable 142 runs to win and merely required some steely resolve from the top order to see off the new ball and break down the spirit of the Renegades’ bowling attack.

The brazen arrogance and sheer mindlessness of the approach to the chase was as bizarre as the Stars captain’s unsuccessful mankad attempt on the Gades’ opening bowler in the final over of the first innings.

A fired-up Tom Rogers with his stump to stump medium-pacers rolled through the Stars’ openers before you could blink, both out bowled in the first ten minutes.

Batters three and four  followed them back to the dugout before the end of the powerplay, both succumbing to uncontrolled brain explosions with a lack of tactfulness generally reserved for mid-week synthetic competitions.

While other BBL teams seem to have concrete plans blotted out for different stages of the match the Stars seemingly approach games as if it’s a two over format instead of twenty.

Some cricket enthusiasts often refer to T20 as “hit and giggle”, but the players surely should have more respect for the format, the art of executing a run chase, and their opposition, but the Stars have adopted that mantra to their playing style.

With all due respect to the guys in the current squad, the way they have acquitted themselves of late isn’t fit to shine the shoes of the guys who represented Team Green in the first few seasons.

For mine this thing needs a complete reboot, moneyball-style, akin to another Team Green; Danny Ainge’s Boston Celtics circa the end of the 2006/07 NBA season.

Boston finished last in the Eastern Conference in 2006/07 and star Paul Pierce’s frustrations grew to the point where he demanded that the Celtics trade him if owner Ainge couldn’t surround him with players to build a team that could contend.

Ainge responded with some of the most shrewd list management professional sport has ever seen, flipping the roster on it’s head and securing future hall of famers Ray Allen (widely renowned as best shooter in the NBA) and Kevin Garnett (a league MVP winner who had played in nine of the past 10 All-Star games) who joined Pierce to form Boston’s “Big Three”.

Ainge also retained defensive anchor Kendrick Perkins, emerging point guard Rajon Rondo and hardened role-players Tony Allen, Leon Powe & Brian Scalabrine.

He added a few more under-appreciated gems to his roster via free-agency (Eddie House, James Posey, Sam Cassell & Glen Davis) and the following season the Celtics would dominate the competition, finishing first overall with a 66-16 record, the best team offensive rating and the best team defensive rating.

They then blitzed through the playoffs to eliminate everyone in their path, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals to secure the 2007/08 Championship and complete the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history.

It can be done.

The Stars need a similar reboot.

They must keep their Pierce (Maxwell).

I would retain the guys who always have a crack (Larkin & Hatcher), the two Englishmen (Clarke & Wood) and the future Victorian superstars (Sam Elliot & Cam Kellaway).

Many of the others could potentially go as they have become rather perfunctory, floating through the last few BBL campaigns with minimal zest or enthusiasm.

Firstly, put a fork in the fossils.

The unrelenting competitive intensity required to win games in the BBL has gone past the bodies of Nathan Coulter-Nile & Joe Burns, they have been great players for a long period but they are done and dusted.

Opportunities for the younger players in the squad – Tom Rogers, Brody Couch, Tom O’Connell, Cam McClure, Clint Hinchcliffe, Elliot and Kellaway – who albeit unproven at domestic level should now be prioritised at selection over those older players who seemingly have little left in the tank to pay their due diligence to the level of vigour and fervour that is demanded for consistent competitiveness in this format.

For the remainder of this season the faith should be placed on these fresh faces.

Put them through their paces and see who demands their list spot the most in BBL13.

I’ve enjoyed the occasional cameos from Webster and Cartwright, but is their output worth their presumably heavy price tags? I’m not sure.

At 29 and 30 respectively I feel they may have reached their ceilings.

I am a massive fan of both Zampa and Stoinis, both have been brilliant servants of the club and are world class performers at their best, but of late they seem bereft of the energy to continue to carry this team, has that burden burnt out their capacity to remain invigorated for the cause?

I wouldn’t write either of them off but with neither based in Victoria for the other ten months of the year a change of scenery may be something both players and the Stars could consider as a new wave of top-end talent to take ownership of the team could be just the tonic to revitalise this fledgling franchise.

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The search to find the equivalents of a KG and a Ray Allen – a couple of energised superstars in their prime that are hungry to take the team by the scruff of the neck and help Maxwell do whatever needs to be done to rejuvenate this organisation to the point it can become a contender again – must be the main priority.

Building a deep squad around them is the next priority, search high and low for some fierce, driven and combative players who actually want to build a title-winning team, not just a group of guys who are euphorically thrilled to be standing on the Melbourne Cricket Ground playing surface.

The appetite for the challenge seems to be lost on the current group of playing group but while much of the above has focused on the players themselves, perhaps more of the blame for the current state of affairs should land with those responsible for list management and game-day strategy.

If the high salaries of the Stars’ best players don’t allow enough reserves in the kitty to sign a competitive squad then perhaps it is time to move on from the marquee imports and turn the attention to the Victorian talent scattered amongst the other BBL clubs.

All of the other squads have a significant percentage of home-state talent on their lists, for the Stars however 20-year-old rookie Cam Kellaway is the sole Victorian to have featured for in more than one game in BBL12.

Future stars Sam Harper, Will Sutherland, Zak Evans and Jake Fraser-McGurk, run machine Nic Maddinson, the Test squad’s reserve opener Marcus Harris, former national limited overs skipper Aaron Finch, and this Sheffield Shield season’s leading run scorer and Victorian captain Peter Handscomb are all enjoying their time together at the cross-town rivals.

Test quick Scott Boland is on Hobart’s list, all-rounder Matt Short is dominating in Adelaide and Australia A spinner Todd Murphy is in Sydney.

There are also former Victorian Sheffield Shield stars littered throughout the other squads, namely Dan Christian, Peter Siddle, Chris Tremain and Matthew Wade.

Bringing some of them back home to the MCG could be the starting point for a desperately needed revival.

Many who were massive Stars fans in the first few years of BBL are now only supporting this team because they love attending the MCG, a venue that this club are blessed to be able to call their home.

With everything they have had at their disposal to create a successful franchise, that is simply not good enough.

I love the Stars and this frustrated rant is born out of being consistently let down by the team I support.
Whether my perhaps harsh suggestions regarding which personnel stay or go are correct or not, the Stars hierarchy can’t possibly sit back and allow next year to be another of just going through the motions.