The Stars and Scorchers clash at the MCG on Wednesday with both teams looking for their first win of KFC BBL|13
All you need to know: Melbourne Stars v Perth Scorchers
Match facts
Who: Melbourne Stars v Perth Scorchers
What: Match 7, BBL|13
Where: MCG, Melbourne
When: Wednesday, December 13. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT
How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports
Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here
Live scores: Match Centre
Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps
Officials: Phil Gillespie (field), Shawn Craig (field), Mike Graham-Smith (third), Daryl Brigham (fourth), Kent Hannam (match referee)
Match squads
Stars: Marcus Stoinis (c), Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Liam Dawson (England), Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Jono Merlo, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Joel Paris, Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Beau Webster
Scorchers: Ashton Turner (c), Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Stephen Eskinazi (England), Laurie Evans (England), Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Hamish McKenzie, Jhye Richardson, Sam Whiteman, Andrew Tye
Form guide
Stars: LLLLL (most recent first)
Not the start to the season new Stars coach Peter Moores was hoping for as they lost 8-62 to be all out for 111 in a 103-run defeat to the Heat at the Gabba. The Stars have been part of the first match of the BBL season for the past three years and lost all three.
Scorchers: DWWWW
Only rain seems to be able to stop the Scorchers at the moment with Sunday's abandoned match in Geelong due to a dangerous pitch the first time they didn't take full points in their last five matches. Despite Ashton Agar still returning from injury and Mitch Marsh and Lance Morris with the Test side, the Scorchers are still picking XIs capable of beating any other team, and fans should expect no different against the Stars on Wednesday.
KFC BBL|13 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.972 | 0 | 16 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.339 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.725 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
STR
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.331 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
HUR
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.268 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
STA
|
10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -1.051 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
REN
|
10 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | -0.288 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
THU
|
10 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | -0.652 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
Players to watch
With Stars captain Glenn Maxwell out of the clash due to a forearm injury, all eyes will be on stand-in skipper Marcus Stoinis to step up and lead the club to an important victory. The Australian white-ball allrounder didn't bowl and managed just two runs in the first match of the season, picking out cover off Heat spinner Matthew Kuhnemann. He'll be hoping to get back among the runs early this Big Bash season after being left out of Australia's XI for their World Cup final triumph over India.
Thwarted by the GMHBA Stadium pitch on Sunday which meant they didn't get a chance with the ball, the Scorchers star-studded pace attack will get another crack against a misfiring Stars line-up. Jason Behrendorff has consistently been among the competition's best bowlers for almost a decade and recently earned a recall to Australia's T20I side in South Africa and India. Jhye Richardson in full flight is a joy to watch and returned from a dislocated shoulder to take 4-36 and 1-27 in the last Marsh Sheffield Shield match before the BBL break. And Andrew Tye just keeps taking wickets, 25 of them last season to finish as the joint-second leading wicket-taker for the season.
Head-to-head
Overall: Stars (8 wins), Scorchers (13 wins), no result (1)
At the MCG: Stars (4 wins), Scorchers (3 wins)
Most runs: Ashton Turner (325), Marcus Stoinis (267), Adam Voges (264), Hilton Cartwright (248), Shaun Marsh (246)
Most wickets: Andrew Tye (27), Jhye Richardson (12), Nathan Coulter-Nile (11), Matthew Kelly (10), Daniel Worrall (10)
The venue
Rapid stats
- The Scorchers are on a five-match winning streak against the Stars dating back to BBL|10. The last time the Stars recorded a win over Perth was the season before in BBL|09 where they won both games against the Scorchers, bowling them out for 86 at Perth Stadium to win by eight wickets before defending 6-141 in a low-scoring affair at the MCG.
- Marcus Stoinis (2499) is one away from reaching 2500 BBL runs. If he reaches the milestone in this match, he will become the eighth men's batter to achieve the feat, and second Stars player to do so after Glenn Maxwell.
- This will be the first time the Scorchers have played at the MCG since BBL|10, having faced the Stars at the Junction Oval for their away fixture for the past two seasons, winning both by more than 50 runs.
- Melbourne Stars have won only one of their last nine BBL matches and have lost their last five in succession. The last and only time the Stars recorded a longer losing run in the competition was an eight-match span from January 2017 to January 2018.
- Josh Inglis (13) is one away from equalling Shaun Marsh (14) for the most 50-plus scores for the Perth Scorchers in BBL history – his BBL batting average against the Melbourne Stars (33.8) is his third best against any team (38.8 v Adelaide Strikers and 36.9 v Hobart Hurricanes).
What's on the line?
The Scorchers will be hunting maximum points after their first match of the season against the Renegades was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. Weather could yet play a part on Wednesday with thunderstorms forecast in the evening, and another no-result would leave a hollow feeling for Perth when they depart Melbourne on Thursday. The Stars on the other hand will be out to lift themselves off the bottom of the standings after their 103-run capitulation to the Heat in the season opener.
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