Melbourne Stars SuperCoach BBL preview

KEVIN Pietersen is just about a given, but which other Melbourne Stars big guns should be part of your SuperCoach Big Bash plans this year?

Glenn Maxwell and the Melbourne Stars will be looking to bring the fireworks to BBL 06. Picture: Getty Images

THE Melbourne Stars like to say they are the city’s No.1 Big Bash League team.

But the fact of the matter is, when you look at the BBL winners’ list, neither the Stars, nor the Renegades appear.

Is that about to change in BBL06?

Whether they win the title is not so relevant to our SuperCoach BBL competition, but the green side of Melbourne has a literal bevy of “Stars” that can help you achieve dominance in your league.

BET ON RED: Melbourne Renegades SuperCoach BBL preview

At first look, the Stars’ batting looks thin on the ground in SuperCoach BBL.

KP raising the bat in the Big Bash has been a regular sight, and is set to be again in 2016-17. Picture: Getty Images

English import Kevin Pietersen appears the only genuine threat.

But, look deeper, and you will see that the Stars are absolutely stacked with all-round talent.

Marcus Stoinis and Luke Wright will open the batting, Glenn Maxwell will bat at either No.3 or No.4, depending on Pietersen’s availability (will he go home for Christmas again?).

All-rounders in James Faulkner and John Hastings will slot in the lower order and, just quietly, Evan Gulbis might be the last cab off the rank — and he just blasted 97 off 26 balls in a grade cricket T20 just last week.

This Stars’ squad has some serious depth with both bat and ball. And what a luxury it is to have Peter Handscomb with the gloves. He’s given them up for Victoria and that got him a gig in the Australian Test team. It’s like having an extra batsman.

He is expected to miss plenty of Big Bash cricket due to Test commitments, but that will give an opportunity for either Tom Triffitt or 19-year-old Sam Harper to step up.

With the rock, there are also plenty of riches. Outside of the all-rounders, who are all capable, the strike force of Daniel Worrall, Scott Boland and veteran Ben Hilfenhaus gives the Stars talent and variety.

The slow bowling comes from the odd couple of young gun Adam Zampa and experienced campaigner Michael Beer.

The Stars will be in the mix for the Big Bash title again and that means you should be looking long and hard at several of them for your SuperCoach team.

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MUST HAVE:

“Yeah, and then he said ‘KP, you’re not in my SuperCoach BBL team’.” Picture: Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen: $156,400

Last season: 9 games, 524 @ 58.22

The man. KP might have done more for the Big Bash than any other player off the field. But on it, he dominates. Never mind that he is 36, he is still among the most explosive batsmen in the competition and, after his stint in the commentary box, will be primed for another productive Big Bash season. At $156k, he is very well priced.

You can never keep John Hastings down for long. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

John Hastings: $174,600

Last season: 5 games, 325 @ 65

Hastings looks set to crack the Big Bash league’s all-time top five wicket-takers this season. And his omission from the Australian one-day squad to play New Zealand could be the Stars’ — and SuperCoach BBL players’ — gain, because you can bet he will be fired up. Has reinvented himself as a miserly wicket-taking seamer who can genuinely bat, and that makes for high scores.

KEEP SAFE:

“Look, I see where you’re coming from, but I’d have me in my SuperCoach BBL team.” Picture: Campbell Brodie

Adam Zampa: $142,700

Last season: 10 games, 531 @ 53.1

Is he Australia’s No.1 short form spinner? Probably. And that means we might not see a whole lot of him in the Big Bash later in the season. He’s worth a look early on, after taking 12 wickets last campaign, but be wary of the international impact.

Will Peter Handscombe take the gloves for your SuperCoach BBL side?

Peter Handscomb (wk): $91,300

Last season: 10 games, 340 @ 34

Quickly becoming the golden boy of Victorian cricket, Handscomb made his Test debut last month and came away with a half century and plenty of love from the cricket public. But does he have the same impact in T20 cricket? The flurry of boundaries he clubbed in Adelaide would suggest he does, but he is all but guaranteed to be missing during the Pakistan Test series. Look elsewhere.

BARGAIN BUY:

James Faulkner is an expert at seeing the Stars home... Picture: Wayne Ludbey

...And he’s a superb medium pace bowler. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

James Faulkner (all-round): $91,300

Last season: 5 games, 170 @ 34

Only played five games last season and will have international commitments interfering, but, at under $100k, Faulkner is the perfect man for your all-rounder bench slot. Last season’s low return feels like an aberration for a player who is a fixture in the Australian one-day team, when healthy. Use him early and then discard when he’s in the green and gold.

NOT THIS SEASON:

We’ve made a big call on Luke Wright, will he prove us wrong? Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Luke Wright (all-round): $127,600

Last season: 10 games, 475 @ 47.5

It might seem odd to have the third-leading Big Bash League run scorer in this category, but the fact is, Wright is no longer the player who used to tear teams apart with both bat and ball. One of the finest contributors to our domestic T20 competition ever, Wright has hardly made a run for Sussex and hasn’t bowled. Expect a drop-off.

Stars team:

Batsmen

Does David Hussey have enough in the tank to be a SuperCoach BBL contributor?

Kevin Pietersen: $156,400

Last season: 9 games, 524 SuperCoach points at an average of 58.22

David Hussey: $77,600

Last season: 10 games, 289 @ 28.9

Rob Quiney: 62,500

Last season: 5 games, 63 @ 12.6

Sebastian Gotch: $42,000

Last season: 3 games, 10 @ 3.33

Bowlers

Michael Beer has a Matador Cup hat-trick under his hat already this domestic season. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Daniel Worrall: $202,200

Last season: 4 games, 301 @ 75.5

Adam Zampa: $142,700

Last season: 10 games, 531 @ 53.1

Scott Boland: $137,700

Last season: 4 games, 205 @ 51.25

Ben Hilfenhaus: $127,300

Last season: 8 games, 379 @ 47.38

Michael Beer: $107,500

Last season: 9 games, 360 @ 40

Keepers

Peter Handscomb: $91,300

Last season: 10 games, 340 @ 34

Tom Triffitt: $62,500

Last season: 1 game, 7 @ 7

Sam Harper: $42,000

Last season: No games

All-rounders

Batting at the top of the order makes Marcus Stoinis an asset for SuperCoach BBL players. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Glenn Maxwell: $188,600

Last season: 5 games, 351 @ 70.2

John Hastings: $174,600

Last season: 5 games, 325 @ 65

Marcus Stoinis: $149,400

Last season: 10 games, 556 @ 56

Luke Wright: $127,600

Last season: 10 games, 475 @ 47.5

Evan Gulbis: $113,400

Last season: 5 games, 211 @ 42.2

James Faulkner: $91,300

Last season: 5 games, 170 @ 34

Evan Gulbis is part of the deepest all-rounder roster in the Big Bash. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Originally published as Melbourne Stars SuperCoach BBL preview