Latest team news and broadcast details as the Scorchers prepare to host the Stars in the BBL|14 season opener
Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars: match preview
Match facts
Who: Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars
What: Match 1, KFC BBL|14
Where: Optus Stadium, Perth
When: Sunday, December 15. Bat flip at 3.30pm local (6.30pm AEDT), first ball at 4.15pm local (7.15pm AEDT)
How to watch: Channel Seven, 7plus, 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: Gerard Abood and Shawn Craig (field), Andrew Crozier (third), David Taylor (fourth), Simon Fry (match referee)
Match squads
Perth Scorchers: Ashton Turner (c), Ashton Agar, Finn Allen (New Zealand), Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Sam Fanning, Nick Hobson, Matthew Hurst (England), Bryce Jackson, Keaton Jennings (England), Matt Kelly, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye
Ashton Turner, who has been managing a rib complaint, is poised to captain Perth for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury on December 20 last year.
Spin-bowling allrounders Ashton Agar (shoulder) and Cooper Connolly (hand) trained strongly throughout the week and also feature in the 14-player squad.
Perth's top-order, meanwhile, could feature as many as three BBL debutants in Kiwi powerhouse Finn Allen, wicketkeeper-batter Matt Hurst and English compatriot Keaton Jennings.
Australian internationals Mitch Marsh and Josh Inglis weren't available due to the third Test in Brisbane.
Melbourne Stars: Marcus Stoinis (c), Austin Anlezark, Hilton Cartwright, Joe Clarke (England), Brody Couch, Tom Curran (England), Sam Harper, Hamish McKenzie, Jonathan Merlo, Adam Milne (New Zealand), Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Doug Warren, Beau Webster
Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of the season opener due to the hamstring strain he suffered against Pakistan in the third T20 last month, but allrounder Beau Webster has been named for the Stars after being released from the Test squad.
Scott Boland, Ben Duckett and Usama Mir are all unavailable due to international duty, while Tom Curran, Austin Anlezark, Hamish McKenzie, Adam Milne, Peter Siddle and Doug Warren will all make their Stars debuts if selection in the final XI.
Club news
Perth Scorchers
Melbourne Stars
Get the latest
Top performers last season
Most Runs
BBL|13 BKT Golden Bat
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
1
Matt Short
M Short
|
541 |
|
2
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
366 |
|
3
Aaron Hardie
A Hardie
|
334 |
|
4
Chris Lynn
C Lynn
|
304 |
|
5
Laurie Evans
L Evans
|
292 |
|
6
Beau Webster
B Webster
|
262 |
|
7
Ben McDermott
B McDermott
|
261 |
|
8
Alex Hales
A Hales
|
258 |
Most Wickets
BBL|13 BKT Golden Arm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Xavier Bartlett
X Bartlett
|
20 |
|
2
Spencer Johnson
S Johnson
|
19 |
|
3
Paul Walter
P Walter
|
17 |
|
4
Ben Dwarshuis
B Dwarshuis
|
17 |
|
5
Jamie Overton
J Overton
|
16 |
|
6
Jason Behrendorff
J Behrendorff
|
16 |
|
7
Cameron Boyce
C Boyce
|
14 |
|
8
Lloyd Pope
L Pope
|
13 |
Most sixes scored
BBL|13
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
|
1
Matt Short
M Short
|
25 |
|
2
Josh Brown
J Brown
|
23 |
|
3
Jake Fraser-McGurk
J Fraser-McGurk
|
18 |
|
4
Laurie Evans
L Evans
|
16 |
|
5
Aaron Hardie
A Hardie
|
14 |
|
6
Chris Lynn
C Lynn
|
14 |
|
7
Alex Hales
A Hales
|
13 |
|
8
Glenn Maxwell
G Maxwell
|
13 |
Local knowledge
Rapid stats
- Perth Scorchers have won their last six BBL matches against the Melbourne Stars, the longest winning run by either team in the history of this fixture; the Stars' last victory against the Scorchers was a 10-run win in January 2020.
- Melbourne Stars have won their last three BBL matches outside Victoria, bowling first on the day in each of those three victories; a fourth consecutive win in this game would be the Stars' outright longest winning run outside their home state in the history of the competition.
- Perth Scorchers had a bowling dot ball rate of 41 per cent in BBL|13, the best of any team in the competition. The Scorchers' bowling average (22.4) was also the second best of any team in the campaign (Brisbane Heat – 16.3).
- Glenn Maxwell (Melbourne Stars) scored 77 per cent of his 243 runs from boundaries in BBL|13, the best rate of any player in the competition (minimum 35 runs) and his highest rate in any of his 12 seasons in the competition (previous best, 71 per cent in 2013-14).
- Cooper Connolly (Perth Scorchers) had a bowling average of 12.7 in BBL|13, the best of any player in the competition (minimum 8 overs); he finished the BBL|13 campaign with five wickets across his last two innings.
KFC BBL|14 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
STR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
2
HEA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
3
HUR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
4
REN
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
5
STA
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
6
SCO
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
SIX
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
THU
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
BKT Big Bash Tipping is back! Simply select who you think will win each match and you’ll be in with the chance to win $1k every week, plus KFC vouchers and signed merch. Join now