WBBL Preview: Stars' 'strongest squad' ready for redemption

WBBL|09 result: Seventh (6 wins, 8 losses)

WBBL|10 Squad: Yastika Bhatia (India), Sophie Day, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Maisy Gibson, Hasrat Gill, Liv Henry, Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Meg Lanning, Rhys McKenna, Sasha Moloney, Sophie Reid, Deepti Sharma (India), Annabel Sutherland

Ins: Deepti Sharma, Marizanne Kapp (Thunder), Yastika Bhatia, Maisy Gibson (Hurricanes), Hasrat Gill

Outs: Nicole Faltum, Milly Illingworth, Alice Capsey (all Renegades), Maia Bouchier, Sophia Dunkley

Possible best XI: Yastika Bhatia (wk), Meg Lanning, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Tess Flintoff, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Reid, Sasha Moloney, Kim Garth, Maisy Gibson, Sophie Day

Player Availability: The Stars will be without Indian draftees Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma at the start of the tournament while Marizanne Kapp will miss the end of the tournament with her own international duties with South Africa.

Inside word with Stars coach Jonathan Batty

Melbourne Stars coach Jonathan Batty has put opposition sides on notice calling the players the side has assembled for WBBL|10 as the "strongest squad" he's seen during his time at the club. 

The Stars have made just one finals appearance in the history of the WBBL and are coming into this year's season after finishing seventh in WBBL|09. The club was aggressive with their recruiting in the off-season, landing one of their biggest ever signings by luring South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp as a pre-selection signing. 

"I think this is the strongest squad that I've had in my time over these three years. I think we've been getting better and better," he said.

They will also be bolstered by the inclusion of India allrounder Deepti Sharma and wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia to hopefully elevate the side to its first finals berth since WBBL|06.

On signing Marizanne Kapp: "I've been really lucky, I've worked with Marizanne for about the last six or seven years through different franchises around the UK. For me she is, if not the best, one of the best allrounders in the world and has been for a long time. She’s a player who wins you tournaments. So if you can get to the business end and be in the mix, she's got a proven record of getting teams over the line. Two years ago we were trying to recruit her, she's a really loyal player and person and obviously we weren't able to get those deals over the line. When the opportunity presented itself with the pre-draft signings, we grabbed it with both hands and are obviously delighted that some sort of pretty strenuous negotiations got her over the line, and now she's a Stars player. Her experience and just that mountain of knowledge of how to win key moments in games, she gets key players out and is one of the ultimate competitors."

On drafting Deepti Sharma and Yastika Bhatia: "I've been on the receiving end of some of Deepti's innings over the past year or two. The last 12 months or so, she's been one of the standout allrounders but the way she's managed run chases has really impressed me. We saw that in the WPL and in The Hundred. She’s been one of the standout performers in world cricket in the last twelve months so we’re really pleased to have picked her up in the draft. She’s gives us a slightly different dimension with her off-spin and she really gives us a real standout in the batting lineup, where she slots in that middle order. It gives us that flexibility to play the game in a few different ways, depending on pitch conditions and how opposition line up as well.

"Yastika is an international opening batter or number three and can keep wicket as well. She gives us that flexibility with the rest of the squad. I’ve seen her play incredibly well at the WPL in that role at the top of the order, we’ll want her to come in and play with freedom to get us off to flying start making use of the Powerplay."

Annabel Sutherland’s impact: "I think in the two years I've worked with Annabel she's grown and grown and grown and even when I was at The Hundred the information coming back from some of the Australian players I was working with there was that she was taking her game to the next level. She has been fantastic for the last two years with both bat and ball. Her leadership qualities are growing all the time as well. I think the performances she's got for Australia has really elevated her to that world-class performer evel. Now I'm really looking forward to seeing her impact and she's one of our major players."

Young Player to watch: "Rhys McKenna, who's been a permanent member of the Stars the last couple of years. I'm really excited to see her kick on. She's really impressed me as a cricketer, as a leader. She was captain of Australia's under-19 team a couple of years ago, but I see her developing into a true allrounder. I can see having more of an impact this year on the tournament. Liv Henry is another player who's got huge potential. I’m hoping she gets an opportunity to show everyone what she’s about."

Who opens the batting: "For me it's about flexibility. I do have a couple of clear candidates with that, in terms of Meg Lanning and Yastika, who are two people who have done role really, really effectively at franchise tournaments around the world. But we always line up with the next game in sight, and we've got to have that flexibility, when players are playing well putting their name in the hat for those roles as well but that's probably what we would do."

Where the Stars improve in WBBL|10: "We underperformed last year as a side, made some really good progress in WBBL|08, so it's just the players are older and more experienced. We've always had a young squad, so just watching how they've matured, I think the decision making is much, much better. It's just about sticking together as a group, playing with confidence and as I was talking about maximizing their potential. If we maximize our potential and play somewhere near our performance peak, even as a group of players, then we should be there or thereabouts come the final series."

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